Return to the Fabricated World
by AnimeandBookcrazedgirl
Summary: Christie is horrified to find that she'll be going back to that cursed world but then she, Ib, and Gary realizes that Mary's returned. What's more is that Christie has come to notice that what had once chased her in that world is back for revenge. First in a trilogy! (Full summary inside!)
1. Chapter 1

**Okay sooo this is my second story in the game called Ib! I plan on making this a long story and since I'm sure my summary will be a long one I will say it here.**

**Summary: No one knows about Ib's little sister. Ib's turning eleven this year and her sister, Christie, is turning ten. Ib still keeps in touch with Gary and Gary visits them sometimes. Christie, a doe eyed young child has nightmares almost every night and almost every time Ib comes to comfort her. Truth be told Ib and Gary weren't the only ones that'd been to that Art Gallery. Christie had come with her baby sitter and then got trapped in the Fabricated world. Christie had to run from a creature that was known to be the darker side of herself. Managing to escape it was only a while later that she'd realized that Ib and Gary had been there too. It isn't long before Ib, Gary, and Christie meet up before they realize that they've had the exact same dreams, dreams of Mary coming back for revenge and of a ancient evil that Christie must deal with lest it be released into their world.**

**So that's the summary! Christie had already gone through all of that for a reason. I wanted to get right into the action! XD**

**So disclaimer time! I sadly don't own the wonderfully fantabulous game called Ib! No matter how much I will it so D:**  
**~T~**

"Wa-Wah! Don't hurt me please!" The scream cut through the haze swallowing her mind whole and Christie looked, wide eyed, at the strange creature before her.

It was a headless statue with a red dress wrapped haphazardly around its slender frame. Its hands were stretched out prepared to grasp Christie's shoulders. Christie had only seen this monstrosity once or, she means, more than once in THAT world.

The Fabricated World. The world that was the cause of her nightmares, the very same that her sister and her best friend had gotten stuck in. Christie assumed that the world was created by Guertena because the paintings and sculptures were all typically owned by Guertena. Whatever the case Christie had gone to the art gallery with her baby sitter one day and as she was looking at a painting she'd turned around to find that everyone had disappeared. It wasn't even a few seconds later before the lights flickered once, twice, then went off. She'd stumbled into that world confused and lonely but despite running from so many strange and terrifying paintings and sculptures she'd come to realize that some of them would willingly help her.

Christie was backed into the wall now with that sculpture slowly starting to bear down on her. Franticly Christie swiped her hands across the wall looking for a switch or a door or anything to get her away from the sculpture. And then, finally, as the sculptures hand tips grazed her arm Christie's hand found a door knob and she turned it. Because she was leaning into the wall when the door opened she fell through and collapsed to the ground on the other side, kicking the door shut in the process.

Heart racing she looked up and around the room. It seemed to be a plain old purple room with no door or switch or even a picture. Well that wasn't true, there seemed to be a artists picture hung up in the corner. Unable to see the picture well from her position she cautiously stood up to go examine the picture.

With a bad feeling she looked up at the picture, her heart nearly stopping,"The lady in blue." Her mouth barely formed the words but even so the words seemed a tangible force in this suddenly claustrophobic room.

Already knowing this part of the dream Christie quickly backed away thinking that the Lady in Blue would fling herself off of the wall. Instead though nothing happened. Upon closer inspection it turned out that the Lady in Blue's frame was crooked. Unsure whether or not that this was a bad idea Christie straightened the frame. As she did so a click echoed through out the room.

Warily Christie only tossed her head back to throw a glance across the room. To the left of her there was a door that had not been there before and she was quite sure that when she turned the door knob it would be unlocked.

Turning away from the picture and hurrying to the door a crash caught her momentarily off guard. Looking towards the source of the sound her amber eyes grew wide at the sight of the Lady in Blue crawling towards her. Those precious seconds of staring at the Lady in Blue proved to be fatal because as the painting woman grew close she wrapped one surprisingly cold hand around Christie's ankle.

"Ack! Let go!" Christie tried to unwrap the painting woman's hand from around her foot but the grip was surprisingly tight.

Slowly to Christie's dismay the painting woman started to pull herself bit by bit up her legs. Christie didn't want to find out what would happen when the painting woman got to a certain point so she started to pull and yank at the Lady in Blue. Christie only managed to stop the painting's ascent. Her arms shook with the effort of yanking the painting off of her, the painting was like immovable stone!

Finally though, bit by bit, she could feel the painting give way. It wasn't much longer that she was able to pry the painting's hands off her hips. Holding the painting up by its hands she looked it in the eyes and then threw it into the wall. What creeped her out was that she was quite sure that the painting had hissed at her.

Christie sighed and, feeling her strength draining by the minute, practically pulled herself to the door. Grasping the door knob and turning it she, of course, found the door to be unlocked. Glimpsing from under the curtain of her hair Christie looked to where she tossed the painting woman and found that the painting woman had disappeared.

_Of course that would happen,_ she thought silently.

Sighing in exhaustion she crept into the other room cautiously and shut the door behind her, the door disappearing as she did so. As she turned her attention to the room she let out a gasp of fear. There, standing in the back of the room was Mary. The woman that had chased Ib and Gary quite a few times and even chased her once as well. Mary looked as whole as ever but Ib had told her that they'd burn her painting which should have killed her.

But here was Mary looking as whole and as devious as ever with a palatte knife in her hand. Her painting was stuck to the wall behind her looking not at all smashed or burned like it should have been. Mary was staring at her with hatred.

"M-Mary?! How are you alive?!" Christie hated the quiver in her voice and she cleared her throat.

"Oh please, don't focus on how I'm alive. Focus on trying to get away... Because this time I will kill you," and with that Mary began striding forward with slow deliberate steps, her dress swaying behind her as she seemed to take great pleasure in seeing her squirm. The palatte knife gleamed dimly in the low life. Christie could practically hear the palatte knife scream for her life.

There was no way out, Christie saw that as she gazed about the pittifully small room. Before, in the Fabricated World, Mary had been trying to kill Gary to get him to take her place but now it looked as if Mary was trying to get Christie to take her place.

The only thing she thought as Mary bore down on her was that she wished she could burn that painting behind her but the only thing on her own person was pajamas. Christie pressed herself into the wall as Mary stopped a foot in front of her and raised the palatte knife. There was no regret in her eyes as she brought the palatte knife down.

Christie was then aware of someone shaking her and she woke up screaming,"Don't kill me Mary!"

"Christie! Its okay, its only me." She blinked her eyes wide wide open to see that Ib and Gary were beside her bed side staring at her with fear and concern. She mentally kicked herself after realizing that they would know she'd been to the Fabricated World. She had never actually told them she'd been there. She had also never told them about her nightmares either but it looked as if it was time.

Gary's eyes grew hard as he stared at her, it was clear that he'd come to that same realization,"Christie... I think you've got some explaining to do."

Ib on the other hand watched her wide eyed with grief plain in her eyes and an expression that said 'please say it isn't so'. They were waiting for her to explain it all, it was plain to see. Christie balled her hands into her bed sheets and wondered where to begin. Christie looked out of the only window of her room and decided to start from the beginning, when she'd just gotten to the Art Gallery.

She turned and was surprised by Ib grasping her hand. She was also surprised by the depth of grief in her eyes. Looking Ib in the eyes Christie thought, _I'm sorry._ Turning to Gary she sighed and replied," As you've come to realize I have been to the Fabricated World.

**Weeeell! This was more like the prologue than anything else. The story will truly start when ever they go to the Art Gallery. **

**So Read and Review and let me know whatchu think so far! :D**


	2. Memories Returning

**Hello Hello Hello! I'm back with a new chapter! I think I did quite good with the last chapter, for me anyway. I've decided that after this story I'll write a sort of back ground story for Christie, ya know, detailing the events of Christie going to the Fabricated World. Except she'll have gone to sort of new places that Ib and Gary hadn't been to.**

**Also I do have school so I can't quite guarentee that I'll have new chapters out so fast. But with that out of the way I will do the disclaimer!**

**I did try to steal the game from its creators but they whopped me over the head with a huge ugly stick! My plan has been foiled so NO! I still don't own Ib D:**  
**~T~**

"How come we've never seen you there though,"Gary asked.

"From what you both have told me about the Fabricated World it seemed as if I'd gone to different places." That was true enough. What happened when I'd gone there was completely different to what happened to Ib and Gary. I'd even realized that Mary was a painting when I'd first met her.

"How did you even go to the Art Gallery? Mom and Dad left you at a baby sitter."

Christie winced and looked at Ib,"Well I'd convinced my sitter to take me to the Art Gallery," she paused and took a deep breath before saying,"it wasn't long after we'd arrived before I'd stumbled into the Fabricated World."

"What happened with you? How'd you get there." That was Gary. The curiosity twinkled in his violet eyes.

"No Gary! I don't think she's up to telling us."

Gary was prepared to tell Ib something but still Christie beat him to it,"Ib, its okay. I knew I would have to tell you guys some day," she paused and closed her eyes wondering about where to start her story. Christie didn't think any of them had all day so maybe she'll just speak about the important events in that world. Oh who was she kidding? All of it was too important. Christie sighed and began,"After I'd convinced my baby sitter to take us to the Art Gallery I was really estatic. I knew Ib and our parents would be there so I hid from you guys. Eventually though as I stopped in front of the sculpture 'Abyss of the Deep' it was only a while later before I realized that everyone had disappeared."

Ib watched Christie, clearly confused,"But that's how I'd gotten to the Fabricated World, through the 'Abyss of the Deep'."

"Well I must have just missed you because I'd left to go look for my sitter and then when I couldn't find her I went to go look for you. By then I was terrified and when I couldn't find you I went to go try the entrance doors and found them to be locked and for some odd reason it'd been pitch black outside even though a few minutes earlier it'd been so bright." Gary had shifted position and now leaned against the bed legs tucked under him and his head propped up on his arms.

"Is that so? Then how did you get to the Fabricated World?" Some of the grief had disappeared by then in Ib's eyes but now she looked at Christie with a hint of suspicion governing her crimson eyes. Christie could tell that Ib was nervous from the way she wrung her hands in the folds of her skirt. It was easy to see that coming back from the Fabricated World hadn't really done anything to fix Ib's guilty consience. Christie suspected that burning Mary's portrait weighed heavily on her consience.

"Well-" Christie paused and frowned. Ever since coming back from the Fabricated World she'd had some trouble with her memory and she found it hard to remember even the smallest details of that world. Christie having a somewhat scientific mind suspected that her mind couldn't take the constant traumatic experiences and decided to blot out the scariest parts. She had to delve deep into her mind before recalling the experience that started it all,"I was... starting to panic. When I tried to open the entrance doors a burst of light appeared behind me and I closed my eyes. When I opened them there was a door where there hadn't been one and it was obvious enough at the time that there didn't seem to be any other way out."

They were both watching her closely. It seemed they both noticed the pause that accompanied her words but it was Gary who said,"Are you okay?"

Christie's smile was slow in coming but she managed a weary grin,"Never better!" Her thoughts however were weak, _If you call getting a head ache from trying to remember stuff 'okay'._

Ib was more persistent,"Are you sure? Your face is pinched as if with pain."

"It is?" The instant Ib responded though she felt it, the clenching of her muscles in her face. She sighed and reluctantly relaxed them.

Gary, as if sensing her distress moved the blankets up higher so she was covered up and then said with a concerned baritone,"I think you need to rest."

When Christie sank lower into the bed both he and Ib shared concerned glances. Christie wanted to tell them to knock it off, to stop treating her like she was dying. But she was cut off when Ib pressed two small lips to her cheek. It utterly shocked Christie because though she were the younger sister Ib hadn't been that sisterly since they slept in the same bed together, which had been years ago.

Gary was at the door ushering Ib out he started to close the door behind him when he pushed it open and said,"When you wake up if you don't mind we would like to hear what you dreamed about. Okay?"

Christie nodded sleepily and gave a tiny smile. As Gary started to close the door Christie seemed to perk up with unexpected fervor,"Gary! Thank you for everything you've done for us!"

Gary seemed surprised by the sudden change in her attitude but Gary merely stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and pretended a look of bashfulness,"Well I couldn't let Ib wander around in that world by herself and I can't let you deal with the stress of dealing with all of that by yourself."

Christie retained a look of peacefulness as she once again slid farther into her cocoon like covers. As her eyes slid closed she didn't notice Gary close the door with a soft click.

Christie was spiraling again into the darkness that sometimes held her in the dominion of her dreams. This wasn't the same kind of darkness you could easily illuminate with a flashlight or even a lamp. This was the kind that would suck up any kind of light, like a black hole.

She was unable to tell which way was up and which way was down and the thought that she could be upside down only made her even more nauseous. There was no way to tell where she was going or so she thought.

In some indefinable direction a burst of light caught her attention. She seemed to be heading towards it. The light was only getting brighter and brighter the closer she got and it seemed to take an eternity to reach it. But when she did the surrounding darkness disipated and all Christie had the sense left to do was to shield her eyes.

When Christie opened her eyes it took her a moment or two to realize that she was in a familliar black hallway. Unable to place the memory she started her trek down the almost unbearably long hallway. The hall way seemed to take ages. There didn't seem to be any end that she could fathom.

Then, slowly bit by bit, light started flowing into the dark hallway. Looking ahead she notice that the light came from somewhere beyond. A familliar itching tugged at her mind, as though there were a memory that was trying to make itself known. Except Christie had the feeling it wasn't one piece of memory, but a dozen pieces of memory, all interconnected to tell a story. Possibly about what had happened a couple of years ago at that Art Gallery...

She stopped at a brown door. Something told her that whatever was beyond here, for good or ill, it would leave her changed once again. So maybe she did go through those traumatic experiences what seemed like years ago but she had buried those memories down deep into the farthest recesses of her heart. To go through this door would mean that she could never go back to the normal life she so wished to have.

_But then... It was never much of a choice,_ thought Christie grimly as she reached out to grasp the door knob. Suddenly feeling small compared to what waited her beyond the door she simply turned the door knob and through it open and allowed herself to drift through her memories, not even realizing that through out the whole ordeal someone was watching her.

It seemed to take a life time to find the right muscles to open her eyes with but she managed and then lay there stunned. The memories had of course came to her in a rush. Now she remembered everything that had happened and there was really no going back this time.

Clenching her eyes shut she rubbed at her eyes furiously, trying to dispel the sleep. Despite having slept she was so exhausted for some reason. _Maybe, _she wondered,_ The inpouring of memories exhausted me?_

Christie gave herself a self-satisfied nod and stood up, giving herself a slight mental shake. It was obvious someone had been in her room since she'd slept, as evidence to the plate of chocolate chip cookies sitting on her bed side table. After she'd dressed in her white ruffled skirt and blue cool silk shirt she grabbed a cookie. Christie skipped more merrily to the door than anyone that would have such dreams as she. But she was happy for finally remembering more than vague details, in fact so happy that she didn't see the person she'd just crashed into.  
**~T~**

**Hi my pretties! :D Oh my goshes, what did you guys think about this chapter? I think they'll be going to the Art Gallery in the third or fourth chapter(think because, I'm doing this entirely off the top of my head). I also have an idea for my third story(because I plan that far ahead). And I mean like...After this story I will create a back ground story for Christie and then the third will be...Wait. No! Its a secret :3**

**Anywaaaay read and review, tell me what you guys think! :D**


	3. Realization

**I finished my Chapter 2 and was going to relax but you know what happened? I started on Chapter 3 right away! That, my friends, is how much I like this game! There is no way I should waste such creativity. :3**

**Since there's nothing left to say I will go ahead and do the disclaimer! Once upon a time in a land gravely ill with the plague one girl sought to change everything and tried to create a certain game. Upon creation however she'd discovered that the game had already been created! Sad and disheartened she deleted the game and continued on with her life unfulfilled. The girl could never own this game, that girl is me! DX**

**On with the shoooooow! :3**  
**~T~**  
Down she went, crashing to the ground yelping in surprise. Christie sat there stunned until a muffled noise caught her attention. Parting her brown hair away from her face she looked up and saw Ib supporting herself against the wall behind her as if the sudden crash had shocked her just as much as it did Christie.

What was even more horrifying, to her anyway, was the chocolate chip cookie that sat in crumbs on the floor. Christie stared at it with a mix of trepidation and childish selfishness,"M-My cookie..."

Then there was a giggle that was quickly smothered into a cough and Christie looked up quickly to see that Ib was trying (and failing) to smother her giggles. She rolled her eyes and held out a hand waiting for Ib to gain enough control to help her up. When at last she did get a hand up she couldn't help but give Ib a grin.

"Sorry Ib, I hadn't noticed you there!" Christie back tracked back to her vanity dressor mirror to pull her hair back into pig tails.

She noticed Ib staring at her through the mirror and let out a chuckle. Ib must have noticed her optimisim,"What are you so happy about all of a sudden?" Curiously Ib quirked her head, her crimson eyes narrowing as if assuming she was going to be part of some cruel joke.

Instead, what Christie said was,"Ever since I've come back from the Fabricated World over a year and a half ago it was hard for me to remember anything that had happened. But now...I remember!" She examined herself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction, the smile dimming soon after upon realizing how pale she was. Sheesh, she had been home for over a year and a half and yet it seemed that the Fabricated World left its mark on her.

"Oh," A smile appeared briefly on Ib's face and then she regarded Christie's face in the mirror,"are you ready to tell us what you dreamed about?" Ib watched Christie jerk with a nervous fidget,"We have a reason we want to know about your dream. You see-"

Christie could tell the poor girl was nervous especially when she cast her eyes down. To give the girl time to bring herself under control she slowly picked up the crumbs of her cookie and threw them away. Through out the whole thing she wondered at the change in her sister. Before that fateful day she couldn't remember a time when Ib had been this serious, well okay, she was serious for a girl her age. But Christie knew that whenever she thought no one was looking her eyes would fill with sadness and Christie herself knew that she still thought of Marry with guilt.

A flash of pain shot through her and she winced. A shudder rumbled through Christie and she hid it by clenching her hands into fists, _I guess I'm just like Ib in that aspect... How could I have forgotten about..._

They were both silent. Christie sighed knowing that if she didn't say anything this situation would only get more awkward. Shaking her head slightly she picked up a cookie, bit into it, and spoke through a mouthful,"You can tell me when Gary get's here, can you please go fetch him?"

Ib, of course, decided to comment on her rude manners,"Yuck Christie! We didn't raise you in a barn!" Ib propped her arms on her tiny hips and narrowed her eyes in a poor attempt to look stern but the image of Ib trying to look stern made Christie struggle not to fall into a fit of laughter. Nearly letting a giggle escape she quickly turned it into a cough, which really made her go into a coughing fit as she choked on her cookie.

Ib watched her a wry grin twisting up the corners of her mouth,"And that is why you shouldn't talk with your mouth full."

Christie was still coughing when she pointed to the door, trying to motion for Ib to go get Gary. Ib understood her well enough though because she skipped out of the room. By the time she'd left Christie had by then gotten her coughing under control. Even though Ib had left and the door was closed she stuck her tongue out in the general direction she thought Ib had took.

It was dangerous for Christie to be alone because being alone would give her mind time enough to wander away. Even though, before that day, she hadn't remembered a lot about the Fabricated World she still wondered about it. She wondered a lot about the guy she left behind. One of the only paintngs in that world that would help her out, he was much like Mary except he was a good guy.

She crept over to her chair by the window and sat down. Her amber eyes went to the sky and maybe it was because her mind was completely focused on what happened those years ago but she didn't hear the door open. Christie rested her head against the knuckles of her right hand and frowned abstractedly.

Maybe it was because of how sad she looked but the two intruders sat on her bed and decided to wait out her silence. Christie didn't know they were there so you can imagine her shock to suddenly turn and see that Gary and Ib were sitting there on her bed, both looking solemn.

Christie forced a smile and replied to their silence,"Oh, you guys are here!" Without completely realizing it Christie started kneading her hands into the folds of her skirt, a well known nervous habit to Ib and to Gary, by now.

Gary seemed to perk up and if she wasn't imagining it, she thought it was for both of their sakes,"Of course we are. Ib came to get me the instant you woke up."

"Yeah I see that," Christie gave her dream a thought wondering what all there was to say. Why would Ib need to know about her dreams? That was one thing she wondered. Did they perhaps think that they're dreams were signs of something? She supposed that unless she told them about her dream they wouldn't know,"So I guess you guys are ready to hear about my dream?" Christie cocked her head in curiosity and waited for their answer.

Gary traded looks with Ib while Christie marveled at that. Gary and Ib had seemed to grow close in such a short time. In that world it felt like an eternity had passed but when they came back time hadn't really passed at all, they had no real idea how time passed at all.

At last Gary replied,"Yeah we're ready." He smiled his trademark lopsided grin except this one was more encouraging. Ib on the other hand buried her hands into her lap and looked up at Christie with curiosity twinkling in her crimson eyes.

Christie paused and began recounting her dream. She told them everything about the dream including being woken up a split second before Mary killed her. Christie didn't exactly trust dreams any more, she now believed that it was very much possible to die in your sleep. Especially where Mary was concerned. As she finished telling them about her dream she watched their faces. There was something odd about their faces, both Gary and Ib appeared to be in shock.

Ib's eyes were set on Christie but they were wide and unseeing. Gary looked less shocked and more grim faced. She watched as he swiped a hand over his face and pressed his fingers into his eyes. Christie was more confused than every at these strange habits of theirs.

"What's wrong with you guys?!"

Ib finally blinked her eyes clear and looked at Christie. She looked to be unsure of something but kinda absentmindedly shrugged it off,"Christie...We've had the exact same dreams."

Blinking slowly Christie stared at them, lost. She couldn't understand what that meant, or perhaps, maybe it was that she didn't _want_ to understand. Gary then replied,"Mary has tried to kill all of us in that exact same dream. In fact every single thing was the same." Gary watched her for any sign that she understood.

Still though she didn't understand what that meant. Christie started pacing to the door and back through the length of the room, thinking out loud,"But what's it mean that we've had the same dreams? If we had different dreams I would just assume that we were traumatized but if our dreams are completely the same..." Christie stopped, frozen. Her mouth dropped and formed an 'O' of surprise. She finally understood what it meant, at least, she thought she did. Whipping toward them they saw her eyes grow wide with shock,"It can't be..."

"We've came to that same conclusion. I'm sorry Christie,"Ib looked at her with dimmed eyes. Christie thought she saw guilt briefly in her eyes but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared.

Gary crossed his arms and stared at them both,"If Mary really is back then the gallery is undoubtedly going to try to pull in visitors again." That drew the attention of both girls and as if they understood what he was going to say next both of the girls bodies grew tense,"Which means we have to go back and stop Mary once and for all."

Ib and Christie were soon silenced at that. On one hand Christie didn't want to go because of all of the creepy statues and paintings but on the other hand she would possibly get to meet the one painting person of that world that wanted to save her. Then again she could feel depression threaten at the thought that she might not be able to save him. Christie sighed and knew that both Ib and Gary were watching her.

She finally decided to say,"Yeah. I suppose we have to go back." Almost as an afterthought she said,"But this time we stay together!" She gave a pointed look to Ib and Gary.

A small chuckle escaped Gary's mouth and Christie looked at him oddly. When he calmed down he noticed that Christie was watching him,"Oh...Its just that you're so freakin bossy!"

"H-Hey!" She pouted even as a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. As Ib and Gary burst into laughter Christie watched them both finally letting a smile curl up the corners of her mouth. She was sure of one thing. It was that if they stuck together in that world then they could handle anything!

And maybe... No one would have to be left behind this time.  
**~T~**

**And that is the end of chapter 3! As you may have already guessed in the next chapter they shall be headed to the Fabricated World. THE SUSPENSE! D: Anywaaay tell me what you guys think!**

**Read and Review! :D**


	4. We're Returning

**In the previous chapter Christie, Ib, and Gary had resolved to go to the Art Gallery and see if they could go back to the Fabricated World after the realization that they've all had the exact same dreams. **

**This time though venturing through the Fabricated World may take more than guts and wit especially if there's more than Mary to run from...**

**That's where our story continues Ladies and Gents!**

**But first I must do the disclaimer! I have nothing funny to say about me not owning this game so...I will go on with the story saying theres no way in heck I could own Ib. I just own my character (Christie) and whatever else I decide to throw in!**

**So Read...**  
**~T~**  
(Ib's POV)  
They were really on their way to the Art Gallery. The one that held Guertena's experiments and long forgotten nightmares. Both Ib and Christie sat in yhr back seat of Gary's Pontiac while Gary himself drove. He seemed completely relaxed and at peace behind the wheel, perhaps unaware of the terrors they were driving towards.

Ib was completely aware of it. She felt as if she were a pig going forth towards its own slaughter. The scenery outside her window did nothing to make her feel better. The sky was outcast, clouds so thick in the sky that the light only feebly penetrated the thich barrier. In fact it was so dark that she just barely caught a glimpse of yellow.

_Yellow...No!_ Was her thought as she jerked back from the window. When they passed the spot where she was sure she saw yellow she hesitantly turned back. There was nothing back there but trees, nothing yellow at all. And most certainly not a yellow rose.

With a sudden sense of forboding she turned away from the window only to find that Christie was watching her.

"Are you okay Ib?"

Ib started to respond when she stopped and took a moment to study Christie. Her Amber eyes were dim and murky, but also groggy looking as though she'd just woken up. There was always a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. It wasn there now. Her hair was still pulled back into pigtails though they were rumple looking, probably attributing to the way she slept. She still wore the same blue silk shirt and white ruffled skirt from when they found her those two years ago.

In fact so was Ib. She was wearing the same white shirt with red scarf combination. Oh and she wore the same red ruffled skirt that became known as her favorite.

Looking down she noticed that Gary's jacket was draped over her like a blanket. The sight of it caused something to flash through her. The feeling made her blood boil, made her want to hit something even though she'd never been the type. Was this jealousy?

"I-Ib?"

At the mention of her name she looked up at Christie's Amber eyes, which were twinkling with concern. The jealousy faded away leaving her embarrassed.

"I'm okay. Please don't worry!"

Though she said tha and forced a smile onto her face she could see that Christie was staring at her. Studying her more than likely, trying to drag the truth out of her. As if seeing nothing was wrong but still feeling like something was her lips tightened and she turned away to look out of the window.

Letting out a soft breath of relief she turned towards the window and leaned her head wearily against the cool glass. Blearily she realized that it was raining. The rain making cool wet tracks where ever it hit. This wasn't the time to be getting sleepy but the rain was very soothing. Despite her struggle to stay awake the pitter patter of the rain was gently lulling her to sleep.

Then something was draped over her and she struggled to see what it was. Something with jagged edges, the color either gray or black.

_It smells good,_ was her last thought as she tumbled into darkness.  
**~T~**  
If she thought she was going to have a dreamless sleep then she was dead wrong. Her dreams were filled with memories of her last visit to the gallery. And...Something more to it.

She saw Christie stand in front of the painting of 'The Fabricated World' and then the lights going off. Both of their adventures started in front of that painting. Maybe it meant something...

Before Ib's dream self could give it any more thought the memories flash forward until she saw Christie knocked unconsious by Mary. Mary was dealing the final blow when something terrible happened.

A blood curdling scream sounded through out the whole gallery and then the ground starting to shake. What was more weird was that it wasn't Christie, she was still knocked out! It wasn't much longer before Christie's body started twitching and then what looked to be paint spreading to engulf her body.

Perhaps what was most terrifying was Mary's terror filled eyes,"No! I was too late!"

The process wasn't even finished yet. The quakes grew faster until Mary's foot slipped and she fell to the ground, too weak to run. Then slowly bit by bit the paint lifted off of Christie and started forming something, a person maybe? Yes it was definitely forming a person but just the sigh of that person of paint made Ib shake in fear even though this was just a dream. It was right?!

The paint was still transforming, taking on a more humane shape until Ib could tell that it was a girl. She was unable to see any more of what the girl looked like as the dream grew hazy and staticky. What was clear was that Mary still seemed unable to move.

The girl looked at Mary with disgust than a...Smirk? A smirk slid onto her face as she said in a sing song voice,"Its Maaaaaary! A mad girl, mad at the sculptures here, mad at the paintings, mad at the visitors for not giving you their rose and even mad at yourself. How...Pittiful." The girl kicked Christie's body to the side, not even seeming to care about the moan escaping Christie.

"H-Hey!" Ib yelled even while knowing that the girl shouldn't even hear or see her...Wait. What's this?! As soon as Ib stepped forward the girl's gaze shot up and locked on hers. Ib couldn't move for fear that the girl would reach out and grab her. The girl's eyes were a deep violet, a kind of witchie violet with some kind of emotion that sent shivers down her spine. Could it have been malice?

There was nothing more to see because she was waking.  
**~T~**  
"Ib? Ib!"

The name slowly brought her back though she moaned and groaned about it being too early in the morning and that she didn't want to go to school. Her ears caught a light chuckle and then she felt fingers prod her shoulder.

"You're not going to school silly!"

That voice was definitely male and it made her eyes pop open in recognition. Her eyesight was blurry at first but she blinked them into focus and saw that Gary was crouched by her side watching her with amusement. Then came the realization that she was using his jacket as a blanket when the wind outside was definitely chilly. She could see that goose bumps were forming on his arms already.

Blushing for more than one reason she quietly handed back his jacket or she would have if he hadn't pushed it away,"No Ib! Its too cold out here for you so you wear it until we get inside."

Was she imagining it or did she see hope flash briefly in his light violet eyes? A light smile popping up on her lips she pulled the jacket on over her even though it was several sizes too big,"Okay Gary!" Just then how ever Ib noticed something wrong. Looking around for the source of her bad feeling she noted that Christie wasn't here."Gary. Where's Christie?" Ib's eyes were narrowed as she glanced around their surrounding area.

Gary apparently noticed her narrow eyed glance because he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably,"She told me she would wait inside," At Ib's eyes suddenly piercing through him he hurried on to say,"Even though I told her to wait! And anyway she said she'd be right by the entrance."

Ib watched him for a moment longer noticing how his face portrayed an apologetic expression. At last she responded saying,"Its okay Gary. Let's not keep her waiting!" As she jumped out of the car Gary closed the door behind her and Ib walked towards the Art Gallery muttering,"She's so stubborn."

Gary must have heard her because she could hear him laughing softly. When they were nearing the entrance she was caught off guard when Gary suddenly grabbed her hand and hurried them both along. Ib's face began to blush but then she saw the goose bumps popping up on his body and the shivers he was trying hard to hide and felt almost disappointed, thinking that he was only thinking to get out of the cold.  
**~T~**  
Gary was right. Christie was inside waiting for them under a vent that spouted warm air though it seemed she was still cold, as she was rubbing her hands over her arms furiously trying to get rid of goose bumps. No matter where they were Christie would get cold. They could be in a desert for all she cared and goose bumps would still pop up on her.

The instant they were inside Ib pulled off the jacket and wordlessly handed it to Gary. Gary took the jacket and pulled it back on, looking instantly greatful for Ib's generous action,"Thanks Ib!" His smile, even though it was an every day one, made her stomach flip and she found hersel to be beaming at him.

A clearing noise caught her attention. Ib turned just in time to see a smile vanishing from her face,"I would prefer that we'd hurry." Then Christie turned and began walking in a random direction but Ib couldn't help but think she was going in the wrong direction.

As her moment of annoyance passed -not at all because Christie was going in the wrong direction- she called out to Christie,"Umm I think we should go check out the painting 'The Fabricated World'."

Christie jerked and turned back to Ib with both eyes wide,"Oh! You're right! All of this started and ended with that painting..." She turned again to walk up the stairs not minding the receptionist entirely. Ib looked closer and saw that she looked as if she were leading a funeral march or going entirely to her death with one of her hands closed in a fist against her chest as though to ward something off.

Gary's hand caught hers and tugged gently which made Ib look up questioningly. His eyes were slightly dim but they caught Ib's unwaveringly,"I think we should stick with her. Whatever happened last time really did a number on her sanity. After this she may not have a lot of sanity left..."

Ib understood immediately. With that world it was practically a rule to lose your sanity when you go in.

They followed after Christie up the stairs then turned a right down the hall way and a left at the Rose Sculpture, Ib pausing momentarily to glance at the sculpture. Really by now she expected the big change and tensed, waiting for it to happen. But it didn't and she sighed going after Gary and Christy again.

Christy started to slow down as if her gaze caught ahold of something. Ib wasn't too worried about it though and she caught up with Gary who had by then found the painting. The painting hadn't changed one bit and they both watched the painting waiting for something to happen.

"So...Now what?" Asked Gary.

"I don't-" Then it happened.

The lights flickered once, twice, then went out. The whole Gallery was bathed in darkness. It was so dark that she wouldn't have seen where she was going but then Gary brought out a flashlight and flipped the switch. The light was strong against the darkness and combatted the surrounding shadows. Seeing him with a flashlight brought a grin to her face.

Gary smiled at her grin and asked,"What is it?"

"Last time it was a lighter. You have an upgrade!" She giggled into her hand.

"Hey! You're right!" Shaking his head slightly his smile grew wider. Walking away he shook the flashlight in all directions, throwing the beam of light across every painting or sculpture.

Ib started to follow him herself when she realized that something was wrong. Turning in a full circle her crimson eyes widened in shock, _Oh my god!_

"Gary!"

"Yeah?'

"Where's Christie?!"  
**~T~**  
**...And Review!**

**Ohoho...The suspense! You can probably guess what happened to Christie if you think about it. **

**Wells I tried to make this chappie longer but I have no idea whether or not its as long as I think. Oh wells Ima be conceited and say I loved my chappie! Wells...My story too! But Im suspposed to XD**

**Lets hope I have as much fun writing my next chappie!**


	5. Tragedy Already?

**Sorry that I have not posted for a few days. I was hanging out with my friends and basically enjoying my Christmas break XD**

**I'll go ahead and do the disclaimer and then get this show on the road! If I owned Ib I'm pretty sure that there would be a slight romance between Ib and Gary but since there were only sweet parts I'll fulfill my wish and more through this story!**

**So Read...**  
**~T~**  
That door had definitely not been there before. In the midst of their looking for a way in to the 'Fabricated World' Christie had happened up on a door. The door was really unremarkable looking and looked completely normal. She would have turned and walked away if she hadn't heard her name.

"Christie..."

Her whispered name sent shivers racking through her body. She barely noticed Ib hurry pass her, catching up to Gary. She only spared a glance for Gary and Ib seeing that they'd found the 'Fabricated World'. They were staring so intensely at the painting that they didn't see Christie grip the door knob. It was only until the lights flickered that she threw open the door and then another second of the lights going off before she stepped through.

As she stepped through the door clicked shut behind her, sealing her inside the long dreaded world.  
~T~  
Christie woke up to find that she was in what looked o be a child's play room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were a green color. What scared her, she found when looking closer was that the walls were covered in floor to ceiling yellow roses. Only vaguely realising that green grass was painted below the yellow roses she jumped up.

_When did I faint,_ she wondered as she surveyed the room. Christie blinked in surprise when she felt something poke at her leg. Looking down Christie gasped in shock when she saw the doll looking up at her.

"You must get out of here! Mistress grows angry..." She heard from the voice something distinctly female and may be it was because the doll wore a pink dress. But something stood out in what the doll said.

"Mistress...Mary?!"

"Yes. She's alive and well."

Well Christie was shocked to say the least. She could feel her face pale as she stared at the doll numbly. She wondered if the doll was lying to her but then saw that the doll had no reason to lie. Even if someone was lying with saying Mary was still alive, why would they do that? She would wonder whether or not Mary was still around anyway because of the yellow roses.

The doll then tugged at her leg, shaking her out of her reverie,"Please! Find the other visitors and flee!"

Christie whispered in horror,"That means Ib and Gary are here. Mary could find them any moment now!"

She surveyed the the room once again to find that there was a door when she was sure it had not been there before. An ordinary green wood door that sat between a pair of yellow roses. Before her very eyes the pair of yellow roses drooped towards the door as though they were pointing her in that direction.

What slightly amused her was that the doll grew increasingly nervous at the action,"She knows you're here! Find your rose before she does!"

_Ah so I have a rose again too?_ She thought but didn't say.

"Al-Alright. I will!" She ran to the door and turned the knob but looked back at the last second. The doll wasn't following her."Um, listen. She's gonna be angry at you for helping me out."

She had the strangest feeling that the doll's smile was a sad one,"I know."

"Why don't you come with me?! I would never hurt you like she would!"

"I'm unable to even leave this room! She has too much power over me." The doll was standing stock still as if it was trying to keep in some sort of action.

"But-"

"Just go!"

She flinched at the sudden rise in voice but complied. Holding in tears she slowly opened the door to a green hallway that continued on into blackness. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then stepped out. As the door started closing behind her she turned and waved a hand in farewell.

But something was wrong. The doll stood in the same place that she had left him but there seemed to be a person forming beside the doll. The more the person formed the more she could tell it was a girl and then horror overcame her as she realized it was Mary! The girl's face was twisted in hatred and her hatred was directed at the doll. Something gleamed in the dim light and she realized that it was the palatte knife.

Mary raised her knife as the doll waved good bye. Christie's mouth fell open in terror and she desperately tried to throw herself into the room to stop Mary. However the door simply refused to budge and simply continued to close until there was only a gap left.

"No!" The scream tore from her throat as the door clicked shut. Christie collapsed to her knees with both hands over her mouth. Then the noises began. A ripping and a slashing noise as if something were being torn apart with a knife. The noises stopped so suddenly after a while that she was afraid to move.

Christie wasn't sure how long she sat there, both hands clasped over her mouth. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed as she simply stared at the door afraid that Mary would come after her. But the doll had said that Mary would go after her rose first. That thought was what spurred her into action.

How ever when she moved it wasn't to go down the brightly colored yet bleak hall way. It was to open the door and glanced inside. She tried to suppress a gasp of horror but didn't quite manage it.

There was stuffing all over the floor and even stuck to the wall in places with red paint. Red paint coated the walls and almost seemed to make the yellow roses shrivel up. There were pieces of the doll's pink dress scattered through out the room almost like confetti. Even though her feet felt like lead she took another step into the room and froe. There on the far wall wore words painted in big red letters.

_'No one defies me!'_

The words sent shudders of fear down her spine. For helping her the doll had gotten butchered! That was unforgivable!

Christie started to back out of the room when something caught her eye. There was a pile of stuffing over in the corner that seemed to give of a pale purple glow. Cautiously she moved towards the pile of stuffing and brushed away most of the stuffing to reveal a rose. A purple rose that seemed almost too beautiful to be real. Shakily Christie brushed the petals with her fingertips making sure that it didn't lose any petals in its scuffle with Mary.

_Mary..._ The thought made her look around the room in wonder, _Did the doll perhaps save this rose for me knowing that she would get torn apart?_

A lump rose in her throat at the thought of the doll's sacrifice and she thought of someone to repay her. Christie chewed on her bottom lip then dug in her pockets to see if she had anything. When she found nothing in her pockets she started off by gathering up the doll's stuffing and all of the pieces of its pink dress that she could find and piled it all up in the center of the room.

_Now for a small sacrifice,_ she thought as she gave her rose a wary look before gripping one of its petals. Taking a deep breath Christie ripped a petal off of her rose and gasped in pain. Pain shot through her side making her want to tear up but she blinked away tears and focused on the taske at hand. Christie didn't know what to expect when she buried the petal into the pile of stuffing, she just wanted to make a small burial site. She certainly didn't expect the petal to give off a bright glow before paling once again.

Christie of course couldn't afford staying a few extra minutes with Mary probably on her trail so she backed away respectfully from the hand made burial and closed the door silently as she backed out.

Maybe she was just imagining it but as Christie glanced down the hallway it seemed a little brighter. That made her gulp in apprehension but she continued down the hall way nonetheless. Okay maybe she wasn't imagining it because a little ways down the hall way her amber eyes took stock of the candles attached to the walls that lit on fire as she passed them. They almost seemed to be...Welcoming her?

There didn't seem to be a door on either side of this hallway and the hallway seemed to go on for miles. The only interesting thing to note was the candles lighting on fire even though no ones there. Then at last when Christie thought she'd have to run the rest of the length out she spotted a door at the other end.

When Christie stopped at the door she reached out a hand to grab the door knob but before she could a gust of wind blew and ruffled her clothes completely chilling her to the bone. When she turned to look behind her she noticed the candles that had been previously lit had been blown out by the wind. Resting one hand on the rose hidden in her pocket for comfort she sighed nervously and pushed the door open slowly.

At the sight of what was on the other side of the door she took a double take sure that she was seeing things. But it seemed she wasn't and not even the pain of crushing her fingers against the door frame could shake her head lose of any dreams she was sure to be having. On the other side of the door was the previous Gallery except everything was dark, people still weren't around and the walls and floor was black in color.

_Could this really be the Gallery? _She thought as she stepped in. The door slammed shut behind her and faded away as Christie expected.

Warily she looked around still not believing that she'd found the Gallery that easy and anyway she wasn't supposed to be here! She was to find Mary's portrait and burn it and then maybe find Lucas.

But as Christie would find, it wouldn't be so easy to leave the area.  
**~T~**  
**...And Review!**

** Sorry I ended the chapter kinda short but if I made my chapters too long my story would end too fast XD**

**And before someone asks you guys will know who Lucas is later on when it gets even more exciting... x3**


	6. The Mimicker

**Back with a new chapter of Return to the Fabricated World!**

**In the last chapter Christie had seen tragedy right away when she witnessed Mary butchering a poor defenseless doll for helping her escape her prison. After building a burial mound for the doll she goes on her way and soon recieves the shock of her life. Through the door at the end of that hallway she finds the Art Gallery. But is this it? The end of her adventure already? Or is something more sinister at work? Stay tuned to find out!-drum rolls-**

**And now for the disclaimer! I still don't own this fantastic game... Q~Q**

**So Read...**  
**~T~**  
"Something's not right here," Said Christie as she gave the gallery careful observation. She went to the desk and stared down at the sign in booklet seeing the half dozen names that had been there from before she and the others ended up here. Christie even noticed hers, Ib's, and Gary's. Really everything seemed to be the exact same but she didn't think she would know for sure until she saw the painting of the Fabricated World.

Christie trudged to the steps and took them two at a time in order to reach the second floor with time to spare. At the top Christie stepped forward curiously to peer outside of the window and didn't seem to be anything outside, no it was more than that. She couldn't see anything beyond the window because it was pitch black as if the Gallery were stuck in a void of nothingness.

Stepping back Christie walked across the wide expanse of the second floor, her foot steps clicking hollowly against the marble. On the way she checked out the other paintings and sculptures making certain that none of them would shift so suddenly. When she passed the painting of 'The Lady in Red' and it hadn't flung itself off the wall to attack her she started to relax.

Stopping suddenly she craned her head in an attempt to look for the source of her bad feeling. Christie felt as if she were being watched but no matter how much she turned this way and that she couldn't be sure where it was coming from. Christie pursed her lips in frustration noticing how nothing seemed different at all.

Well that was untrue. There was an aura about this place that was all too familliar and made her all too wary. Despite the aura though Christie wished that this was the real Gallery and something inside her whispered that she ought to escape while she still could.

Shaking her head Christie whispered,"I can't leave without Ib and Gary, Plus with Mary in here with them...She's obviously out for revenge. And then there's Lucas, the guy I left behind when I escaped last time." Gulping down a sudden lump in her throat she hummed to try to drown out the whisper in her mind that...Now she thought about it, seemed to be growing louder and louder.

Stopping all of a sudden her fists were clenched so tight at her sides they seemed to be turning paper white,"The last time I escape I promised I would leave with everyone! Ib and Gary... Lucas... And even Mary if I could help it!" Then a few seconds passed and at last she yelled into the all too silent gallery," I'm not going back without them!

For a few seconds it seemed as if the Gallery faded in and out of focus, some kind of glamour having hidden the real room away from her. A yellow room with many doors and then a painting that she hadn't seen before but before she could get a closer look at it the room's glamour turned back into the Gallery.

Standing there silently she released the tension in her hands and contemplated her next coarse of action. Finger tapping against her bottom lip she decided that to turn this room back to normal she should find the painting that she'd seen before -despite barely seeing it at all-.

Christie was just beginning to sidle off when a poster caught her eye. It was beside the painting of the Fabricated World almost as if someone knew she would have headed in that direction. Moving close she read the words and frowned,"The Mimicker is a painting that can take your desires and make them a reality."

_Is this painting what was the cause of this rooms glamour? Was my desire to go back to the real world after all? _The thoughts resounded a chord deep in her body and she couldn't help but look sadly at the painting almost tempting her with all too familliar words. It was clear, as she stepped closer, that the voices she had been hearing were coming from this painting.

As soon as she touched the frame it disappeared and the painting became a portal to her world. This was it. She could go back after all! Christie wasn't aware of the voices in her head increasing in volume, nor was she aware of a voice saying,"yes..." As she slowly reached out to fall into the painting.

"No! STOP!" The voice broke through her concentration and just a finger tip away from touching the painting she now jumped back and stared at it wide eyed. Now that her mind was clear she could see the doll peering out of the picture at her with a sort of derranged smile before disappearing.

Then remembering the voice that brought her back to herself she whipped around and stared into the startling emptiness of the Gallery. How ever she felt that whatever had tried to force her to fall into the painting was angry and she had best lift the Glamour of this place before the painting made her do anything else.

Then began her search for the painting. Really it shouldn't have been hard to find one painting that was different to everything else but as minutes and even hours seemed to pass she found nothing and almost waved a white flag in defeat (metaphorically of course). Christie collapsed to the ground exhausted. It was some time later when she realized that she'd stopped in front of the Rose sculpture.

Her eyelids drooped and she was unable to hold in a yawn. Her amber eyes search the Rose sculpture perhaps looking for some sort of answer, she whispered helplessly,"What do I...Do?" Unable to stay awake any longer she fell to her side, eyes fully closed.  
~T~  
"Please... Hear my voice!"

_Huh...? This voice is strangely familliar._

Darkness surrounded her, she was unable to see anything through the pitch blackness but strangely enough there was she could see a silhouette standing in front of her. Studying the silhouette she couldn't help but feel as if she knew this person. Judging from the voice from before this person was undoubtedly male.

Christie had the unnerving feeling that he was giving her the same once over she had given him. Something seemed to shudder through the shadow as she brought her arms up to cover her chest. Whether the shudder was from fear or revulsion she couldn't tell but there was one thing she was sure of. This guy wouldn't hurt her, she didn't know how she knew that. She just did.

Finally the boy...Man(?) seemed to snap to attention. Christie started to ask him who he was when his voice filled the air around them,"One of the paintings is not like any other. Find the one that lives and you'll find the Mimicker." The dream started to fade at its foundations and maybe a little panicked the voice yelled,"You must do this Christie!" Could she be imagining it or did she hear a note of sadness?

The voice, the sadness, that familliar shadow, it was all too familliar and as the dream started to fade Christie realized that he wore something similar to a top hat. Shocked she started to yell,"Wait! Are you..."

Before she could ask she was already waking up. Coming to start with a shock she lay there for a few minutes absorbing the dream she'd had. Focusing on the new task at hand -other than the achingly familliar man- she started looking for a painting with the slightest different than the rest.

"Find the one that lives he said,"her voice had a slight sarcastic lilt to it as she once again took the stairs down and began her search down there. She didn't stop to think about all the space in that one room, a room that strangely had two floors. Was all of this part of the illusion too?

_How will I know which one lives? Paintings aren't supposed to live at all!_ Shaking her head she regretted it instantly as she knew as well as Ib and Gary that in this world anything made by Guertena could most likely move and attack.

Christie turned a corner and froze, looking about in confusion. She felt a strange warp in the space around her. It felt as if some kind of power were manipulating the room around her. She grinned and started towards the painting that she knew not to be too far away.  
~T~  
(Ib's POV)  
Turning this way and that Ib stared at the paintings and sculptures feeling somewhat conflicted. It seemed as if there was something there, according to the man before that pointed them in this direction. Ever since they'd been seperated from Christie both Ib and Gary had been searching for her worried that the next time they saw her she would be...

She cut the thought off instant when Gary looked at her. His violet eyes were concerned and despite knowing he couldn't read her mind she made her face a rock anyway. Sometimes Gary seemed to know stuff about you even before you did and that unnerved her sometimes. She didn't want Gary to worry every time she was upset.

A loud crash interrupted the silence of the Gallery. Ib and Gary shared a look before running off to see what had happened. To Ib's surprise the Gallery started fading in and out around them, it seemed as if the Gallery wasn't as real as it seemed to be.

They both turned a corner and there they saw Christie with both hands over her knees, panting as though she'd just ran a marathon. She'd been standing over a painting that Ib knew was the sound they'd heard.

The Gallery faded away leaving behind a big yellow room with many doors and a painting just behind them on the wall that said the Mimicker.

Christie looked up smiling,"I'm so glad...To see you guys...  
**~T~**  
**...And Review!**

**I really don't think I did too well this chapter, well towards the end anyway.**

**Now that Christie has solved this puzzle and stopped the Mimicker what could be next for our heroes? Where's Mary and has Ib and Gary met her yet? And just who is this Lucas, if Christie knows him then he's not a bad guy right? Tune in next time on the Return to the Fabricated World to find out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**The story so Far: What officially began their trip back to the Fabricated World was a dream that told them all they needed to know: Mary's back for revenge but what they don't know is that this time Mary's more determine than ever to get out. Christie hasn't met any of those strange statues and paintings that would normally attack her, only a strange doll that saved her even though it knew Mary would kill it. Christie then sacrifices a petal of her rose to use for her burial mound and then goes on her way. The first challenge overcame involved distunguishing reality from fantasy(quite literally I might add). It took her a subtle push from someone in her dream before she realized what to look for and when she finds the painting and throws it off the wall the scenery faded in around her and a yellow room with many doors replaces it. It is then that Ib and Gary round the corner just to see Christie bending over a picture with both hands on her knees.**

**Was that too long? I apologize for that XD**

**Anyway I still don't own Ib so let's get this show on the road!**  
**~T~**  
(Ib's POV)  
"No way!" Christie had just told us her story of what happened so far. Apparently I wasn't the only one surprised that a doll had been killed for helping her, looking at Gary I could see that he'd had some doubts but I didn't have doubts because the grief in Christie's eyes was plain to see. She was trying so hard to hide it but she'd aways been my sister, I knew when she was troubled or depressed.

"Yes way and then...Don't be mad but I sort of gave up one of my rose's petals for a makeshift burial ground." She smiled bashfully pretending innocence but I stared at her shocked and for a moment there I was thinking of blasting her to the sky and beyond but Gary beat me to it.

"Christie are you crazy!" Christie visibly flinched but he wasn't done yet,"You know its dangerous to sacrifice even a small portion of your rose,"crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes he finished with,"What do you have to say for yourself?"

Christie looked up at us with wide and fearful eyes as though just now realizing what she did,"I just...Felt sorry for the doll. It had sacrificed itself for me...Even going so far as to keep my rose safe. I felt that it was my fault the doll had gotten killed..."

Gary deflated at her grieved look and he sighed,"Alright I'm sorry for getting so angry. I was just worried that you were in pain."

That was when I decided to pipe in,"How are you feeling anyway Christie? Especially where coming here is concerned." Studying Christie once again it seemed as if she were better off than I had previously thought. Ever since we were little I had thought that she would need my protection, she is my little sister after all. But already even without me she had met Mary and maturely sacrificed a part of herself in hopes that the doll could rest in peace.

"Don't worry Ib I'm okay!" For not the first time Ib felt guilt at bringing Christie along. Those amber eyes of her looked way too wise but she seemed happy enough at finding them. "Anyway we should get a move on already!"

Before they could say anything Christie had moved off to check out one of the rooms. Gary stared at Christie concerned for a few seconds befoe gripping Ib's hand and rushing them both over to Christie. Inside the room Christie was kneeled in front of writing on the wall.

"Hm? What'd you find Christie?" Gary let go of my hand and went to kneel beside Christie but I couldn't help stare at my hand which seemed too cold without his hand wrapped around it. I could hear Gary bite off the end of a curse and that surprised me enough to go see what all the fuss was about.

Getting down on both knees and smoothing my skirt down in the process I grabbed Gar's arm and Christie's shoulder to steady myself and read the blue words that also looked freshly painted, and still seemed to drip paint. The words said,"_Oh its SO nice to see you all again! Let's play another game! This time let's have a treaure hunt!"_

"A...Treaure hunt?" Whispered Christie,"Could this be...Mary?"

"No doubt about it,"Replied Gary. I noticed that though he tried to keep his emotions hidden from them, his violet eyes revealed that he was fearful.

I sighed and ran a small hand through my hair slightly mussing it up a little,"I don't want to play by her games but I have the feeling we won't be able to go on unless we do." Sitting back on my heels I wondered,_ We don't even know what we're looking for though. What do we do?_

It was Christie that spoke her worries first,"If this is a treasure hunt then what are we supposed to look for?" She stood up and walked to the door, her blue skirt swishing behind her as she went. Turning to the right and left I could see her eyes moving and I realized they were moving from door to door. Then, obviously done she came back to present her findings,"Including this door there are five doors in all. Whatever we're supposed to look for must be something out of the ordinary right? If that's so then let's go already."

Christie was in a rush to get us moving it seemed. I had long suspected that she'd came with us to this world for a reason other than to stop Mary and my suspicion was more so confirmed when she grabbed both of our hands and hurried us into standing positions. In fact she was just about to rush out when Gary called her back.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Now I know its obvious that we've got to split up in order to be one quicker but we should also know that this place is dangerous,"and here he threw hand gestures around in order to talk about the Fabricated World, "If one of you is in danger yell and the both of us will come running, okay?" He shared a look with both of us making sure we understood.

"Alright,"Said Christie.

"Okay!"

A frown appeared on my face as Gary and Christie left to go explore the rooms. Why couldn't we just skip the treasure hunt and get out of here? Though I thought that question I had to see myself and so maybe you can say the curiosity got the better of me but I had to explore this room fully before coming to the conclusion that we had to do the treasure hunt, because like I told them, I didn't want to play by Mary's rules.

With that in mind I exited the room and continued on to the back of the room where I found five pedestals. The pedestals were almost golden brown in color and looking closer I could see various shapes of indentions where certain items would no doubt fit.

I sighed and thought, _I guess we have to do the treasure hunt after all._

But wait...Five? Christie had counted five rooms including the room we had started in yet the only thing that was in there was the writing. Confused I started to turn away when a small rumbling shook the ground, it wasn't enough to make me fall but it still caught me off guard nonetheless.

When the rumbling stopped I noticed that there was a small plaque on the ground in the center of the five pedestals, it must have risen when the rumbling started. Crossing my arms behind my back I bend low to read the words.

_The hidden room will only reveal itself to the one whose heart rings true. Solve the challenges laid before you and the hidden path shall be revealed._

Even though the writing was slightly poetic in nature I understood what I had to do to reach the last final room. I had to go through the other rooms first and solve their challenges right? But...The one whose heart rings true? It almost sounds like only one of us would be able to go into that room.

Deciding to put it to the back of my mind I straightened and turned around just to see that there were two open doors. Curiously I crept up to one of them and peeked through the open door. Through that door there seemed to be a maze in a...Dungeon? It looked like a medieval dungeon type maze with the only light to be seen torches hanging on the wall.

Figuring that either Gary or Christie was in there I crept to the other door, which was on the other side of the room. Inside of the room I saw Gary. He didn't seem to be paying attention to anything except a picture frame in front of him. Ib stole a moment to study him noticing how he didn't seem fearful like he usually did but really thoughful. His long slender pianist like fingers cradled his chin giving him an even more thoughful look. His other hand was on his hip and he was unmoving for a few seconds when at last that hand on his hip reached out to pull a puzzle piece out of the frame and switch it with another.

That was when Ib zeroed in on the frame. She tried not to giggle at the challenge laid before him. Gary's challenge was to put puzzle pieces of a Milk Painting back in their right places. She remembered Gary telling her the last time they'd been here that Milk Paintings weren't too fun and then a little after they escaped he'd confessed that Milk Paintings were his pet peeve.

I whispered,"Good Luck," and then turned away. I didn't even have to fear that he would hear me and his concentration would be broken because he didn't react. Or I thought he didn't react any way until I noiced him turn slightly and smile at me before turning back to the painting. I couldn't help but turn red at the smile, it was one of his usual ones but the smile was brighter than the dim lights in this room, cliche speaking of course.

I rubbed both of my cheeks trying to wipe away the rosey blooms. Choosing a door entirely at random I flung it open only to be face to face with an empty room. Well not entirely empty because on the far wall there was a big red button and a sign above it that said "Press me."

With really no options left I stomped towards the button and perhaps my first challenge.  
**~T~**  
** Well that was kinda anti-climatic huh? I think this is a short chapter but I felt like I should have ended it there. It seemed appropriate :D**

**Please R&R or I will send the evil monkeys after you! Yes I'll send them after you with a vengence! Not really, cut me some slack it was a joke DX**

**See you in my next chapter :3**


	8. In a Rush to Save Gary

**Ib's curiosity over the button is getting the advantage on her. A big red button in a scary place like the Fabricated World? What will happen when Ib presses the button? Whatever happens one things for sure: Nothing good will come of it.**

**So with that out of the way I in no way own Ib! I'm just a fan that owns Christie and my own ideas and whatever else I decide to throw in XD**

**So Read...**  
**~T~**  
(Ib's POV)  
I stomped towards the button unsure of what to expect. It seemed as if the Fabricated World had changed a lot ever since we came last time, even now I was afraid that Mary would just come in at any moment and off my life. Though that didn't happen of course and I was left standing in the same place I was just a minute before. Letting out a breath I didn't realize until now that I'd been holding I steeled myself and moved in to press the button.

"Ib!"

That was Gary. I twsited to meet his horrified gaze but it was too late. I'd already pressed the button and then I grew confused at Gary's worried look because nothing was going to happen, right?

But I was wrong. Another minute passed and I began to walk over to Gary disappointed when the scenery around me blurred and the rumbling started. Gary, obviously horrified, yelled,"Hold on Ib! I'm coming in!" Gary began to take the first step in when he was abrubtly yanked back and I couldn't see what had yanked him back because as the rumbling in the ground grew stronger I collapsed face first.

Turning my head with a bit of difficulty I saw a flash of red and black and then Gary blocking the door even though a statue was attacking him. I remember yelling,"Gary!" In total anguish before blacking out.  
~T~  
"Mmm..." Opening my eyes was difficult. My eyelids were like dead weight and it was even harder to sit up. My whole body felt like lead and it was even more difficult to move myself into a sitting position but I somehow managed. One I was sitting it was easier to tell that I was now in a completely white hallway that seemed to continue on forever to the front and behind me.

_Where am I?_ I thought as I rubbed my head, also messing my hair up in the process,_ I remember pressing the button in that room and then I think I fainted when Gary was being attacked... Wait. Gary!_

The sudden realization that Gary was still outside that room being attacked by that statue and who knew what else brought me to my feet despite the pain I felt. Suddenly concerned at the pain I felt my pockets for my rose and lifted it up to my eyesight.

"I lost two petals... That isn't good,"I whispered silently and then pocketed the rose. Knowing that I was okay for the mean time left me worrying about Gary. What if his petals were being plucked? What if he was surrounded? Worst yet what if... _No! I won't know if I stand here this whole time!_

Clenching my fists and my eyes against the sudden onslaught of frustrated tears I began my trek down the never ending hall. Least I hoped it wasn't never ending because I had to hurry to save Gary!

There was really nothing in this hallway. No furniture, no paintings, no scultpures or manaquin heads. It wasn't a scary place at all but lonely and sad somehow, it seemed so...Empty. It was perhaps because of the atmosphere that I couldn't help the shiver creeping up my arms. Slapping my hands atop each arm I tried to rub out the sudden goose bumps but it failed to do anything.

It seemed that the hallway really would continue on forever but eventually it had to come to an end. At the end of the hall way a bright light appeared all of a sudden and couple with the white walls and white flooring the light became overbearing and as I took a step forward I hurriedly raised my hand to shield my eyes.

Then I heard a door slam behind me and I whipped around to see that a door really had slammed closed. Wrapping a suddenly trembling hand around the door knob I twisted it to find that I was locked in this room. Giving a frustrated sigh I turned to face the room. The room was empty but for a table and a Crystal Ball sitting on top.

In truth I nearly overlooked the Crystal Ball until I looked closer and saw that the Crystal ball seemed as if it were fused with a pedestal of some sort. Taking the Crystal and pedestal in my hands I turned it this way and that wondering if its golden brown color had any meaning.

My hand just barely brushed the surface of the crystal and then a scene suddenly appeared in the crystal like I was watching T.V. The scene was of Gary blocking the door to the room I had entered. It didn't like as if her were in very good shape. He was surrounded on all sides by the statues with grasping hands, the paintings clawing at his legs, and even the manaquin heads were there though they didn't attack, they just blocked all means of escape. It didn't look like Gary would run for safety in the room I had went through.

"No! Gary!" I couldn't look away.

When a Lady in Blue grasped for his rose he grabbed his rose from his pocket and held it up high, out of reach of the paintings. But then there were the sculptures and they wouldn't be dissauded easily from grabbing his rose. One of the sculptures with a yellow dress grabbed his arm and slowly started to pull his arm. The sculpture must have been unnaturally strong because even from right here it was easy to see that Gary's muscles were being pulled taut. As the seconds grew a strain came to his face that made me realize how strong the statues really were.

Then the scene hazed over and I whimpered out,"Gary? Please be okay!"

That scene was replaced by another scene which, when she saw it, sent a shock of guilt through her. It was of Mary as her painting form. She wasn't out yet but in the painting she didn't look happy. If anything she was in total despare. In the painting tears were leaking down her face and her fists were clenched at her sides. Then the scene changed a bit to show Mary standing in the toy box with a mad look and the only thing to defend herself, a palatte knife in her hand.

Then all of a sudden a voice came out from no where,"You have to choose." It was a kind, wise, yet somehow sad voice. As though it knew that whatever I chose could have a big impact with what ever happened in this world.

Gulping I held the Crystal ball in both hands and watched the scenes change to Gary. The way the sculpture was slowly pulling his arm down, the strain in arms and then the desperation as he saw he was losing the battle. Then the scene changed back to Mary. Seeing the tears and then the palatte knife and then...Finally it showed Mary burning to ashes.

Subconsiously my hand rose to my heart in order to stifle a pain of guilt. My lips parted and my bottom lip trembled as the scenes changed over and over and over again. To Gary and then back to Mary and then still back to Gary. The scenes changing gradually increased in speed until it was hard to make out who they were about any more.

But then she finally saw something that made her gasp in fear. It stopped briefly on Gary and she saw that the sculpture was finally sucessful in scratching off a petal of Gary's blue rose but it was enough for Gary to put a hand to his side. The sculptures and paintings immediately took advantage of it and grabbed for his rose.

"Gary, NO!" The choice by then was clear, Gary was in danger and I had to do something so I didn't hesitate when I said,"I choose Gary! I want to save him!"

Maybe it was the desperation in my voice but the voice turned kinder so as not to freak me out-maybe?-,"You have chosen to save a dear friend and to risk the madness of another, am I correct?"

Taking a deep breath I looked at Mary's image once more but now I didn't care about the guilt I felt for burning her."Gary could very well die. I won't leave him to suffer! So yes, you are correct."

"Then go forth and save your precious friend."

Whatever happened afterwards she couldn't tell because everything went white.  
~T~  
I woke up to a commotion that seemed to be coming from outside. Groaning I laid there for a few seconds wondering what was going on. Then all memory returned to me the instant I laid eyes on Gary. The sculptures were gradually closing in on Gary's rose which had by then lost a couple more petals. The pain in his body was unmistakable. With the way he held his body you could see that it wouldn't be long before he gave in.

Withholding a gasp I tried to think quickly by looking around the room. It was hard to concentrate with my worry for Gary and the noises from outside but then I noticed that the wall looked to be brittle in a spot near the door way to the left of me.

Not wasting any time I ran over to the brittle spot and threw my full weight against it. The wall crumbled a bit but it was still standing so I decided to have a go at it again. Backing away a few steps I glared at the door and braced myself. Then pushing off with my feet I ran at the door and threw my shoulder into the wall even as a sharp pain shot through my shoulder. But my effort must have been much appreciated because the wall finally gave way and I looked around shocked to find that I was in the maze room.

The door was right there in front of me. Trying to breathe in short breaths to calm myself down I once again braced myself and walked out, only to freeze in place. The paintings were still there though they were now ripping at Gary's legs. The sculptures were also still trying to get at Gary's rose though two of them were now scratching at whatever Gary's body they could reach. At least he hadn't seemed to lose any more rose petals since she was in that room.

Narrowing my eyes I grasped the rose in my pocket and held it up high then yelled,"Hey!" A few of them looked and turned toward her but some of the ones nearest Gary still grasped and tore for the Blue rose so I raised my voice a few more octaves making dang sure they all heard me,"I said HEY! You all want my rose?! Why go for the blue rose when I'm the one that burned Mary?!"

"Ib?" Gary looked at me wide eyed in fear as the rest of the sculptures and paintings turned my way. As I took a step back it was obvious that Gary saw my intentions because he yelled,"No! Don't do it Ib!" His voice rang in desperation and I gave him an encouraging smile then turned tail and ran.

Only glancing behind me once to make sure they were following me -which they were- I ran into the maze room in hopes that I would lose them in there.  
**~T~**  
** ...And Review!**

**What did you guys think? I hope you guys are happy I stayed up at late hours of the night just for this XD**


	9. Three POV's Three Experiences!

**Ib has found one of the items she was supposed to but she can't get back to the pedestals anytime soon because now she's had no choice but to run into the maze in hopes losing the paintings and sculptures. She never looks back to see what happened to Gary and she never gives thought to Christie who's alone in the maze.**

**So...People might have noticed that I've had trouble with staying in the first point of view, I've tried staying in the First Point of View but if I keep switching at random intervals I may have to switch to second or third and hopefully stay there. Sorry If I've confused anyone :D**

**Now for the disclaimer! I swear that if I owned Ib there would be slight romance scenes. I only happen to own my characters and my ideas.**  
** Read...**  
**~T~**  
(Gary's POV)  
What was this? Ib was standing there with a rose above her head and goading the paintings and sculptures towards her. As Gary held his rose up high he realized dimly that Ib had to call out to them a second time before they would turn toward her. Was it his imagination or did she use the death of Mary as an excuse to majorly anger them?

"Ib?" He could feel his eyes widen in fear as the paintings and sculptures turned towards her. In a flash Gary could feel Ib's intentions, she was going to lead them from him at the risk of her own life. Gary subconsiously took a step towards her and then called out in anguish,"No! Don't do it Ib!"

Just then Ib's crimson eyes grazed his violet ones. She gave him an encouraging smile, perhaps meant to tell him to not worry but oh it did. When Ib turned and high tailed it into the maze Gary felt that she'd take a part of him with her.

Of course the paintings and sculptures chased after Ib but even the manaquins gave chase. Gary knew, no, he _felt _that if he didn't hurry they would soon catch up to her. But even if he did find her in that god forsaken maze, what then? He could very well be the one that endangered her life.

Being careful not to hurt his rose he clenched his hands into fists and stared intently at the entrance of the maze. Gary placed the rose into the pocket of his jacket and crept towards the maze hesitantly then looked both ways. He thought the left side was a dead end but then he caught the hole in the wall. Looking closer he also caught that the whole in the wall led to the room Ib had been in.

"So that's how she got out..." He couldn't help the soft chuckle at the girl's cleverness. Truthfully last time they were here Ib had been the only reason he'd stayed sane, even when he'd failed to find the key in that doll room. She had been there every time to snap him out of his insanity and she'd been there to smile innocently when all he wanted was to curl up in a hole and die.

Maybe that was why he felt he had to save her so much. Maybe he felt he owed her for everything she'd done. However, if he were truthful he would admit another reason for wanting to save her so much.

Only thinking of saving Ib he headed deeper into the maze.  
~T~  
(Christie's POV)  
_Why are there so many sculptures and paintings all of a sudden?_ That was the thought that crossed her mind as she hid out of sight of another sculpture, this time dressed in red. There were even Manaquins there though they didn't attacked, oddly enough they blocked random paths. It would be made clear soon enough that the manaquins were pointing her in the right direction.

There hadn't been any paintings and sculputres just a few minutes ago, in fact she'd continued on in silence until she'd noticed the sudden abundance of enemies. The dim lighting was just enough so that she could hide in the shadows should one of her enemies made a sudden appearance.

After waiting for the sculpture to walk away she stepped out of hiding and waited for the clack of the sculptures feet to fade away before she began her trip through this maze. For not the first time she wondered how big this maze actually was. In the distance she saw something that peaked her interest. When she drew close she saw what it was.

It was a doll. A doll with a blue dress and the same creepy red eyes, the same creepy huge smile, though she reasoned that if this one were anything like the last doll than it would help her. There were words painted in blue right next to the doll and hardly able to see it even with the help of the torches she bent closer to the words to read it."

_The game's prize is this way!_ And then there was an arrow pointing to the right.

Christie stood up with a grunt tired of moving yet knowing she wasn't safe here. Before she continued on she spoke out to the doll,"You know... Mary will be mad and I know you probably won't come with me but you need to get to a safe place anyway." The doll of course didn't move or speak suddenly but she comforted herself with thinking the doll had heard her.

As Christie moved away a rustling sound made its way to her ears and curiously she twisted her head to look for the source of the sound. When she did so she discovered that the doll had vanished, taking away any evidence of it ever being there. Without completely realizing it a smile softened her face, taking away the seriousness for the moment. Then she remembered her task at hand and continued along the path the doll had shown her.

How ever despite continueing along the path the doll had shown her she still got lost and had to back track. And then she even got chased by sculptures and paintings a few times so she might have gotten lost a few times.

"Ugh! Even if I do find this supposed item will I even find a way out of this maze!" She slapped a hand over her mouth once she realized she'd yelled that out loud. Her voice echoed down every which way and she just knew that everything within hearing had heard that and she was possibly attracting every thing to her. Not wasting another minute she hurried down the dimly lit path way trying her best to avoid whatever came her way.

By the time she'd reached the end of the pathway she was already gasping for breath. Christie was never big with athletic things, she usually enjoyed relaxing with a good book. Surprisingly enough it was Ib that was big into athletics though she also liked music and reading. Truthfully both Christie and Ib didn't mind as long as they had fun with their friends.

Christie put a hand to her chest feeling for the rapid beating of her heart. Christie looked up once she'd gotten her breathing under control and what she saw made her Amber eyes twinkle in that same curiosity that could get her in trouble.

What she saw was a small statue on a pedestal. There were stairs leading up to it but just looking up at the statue made her want to sigh in apprehension. Christie was not looking forward to this next bit of exercise. Deciding that she should stop complaining to herself she hurried up the steps.

_If one of those evil art creatures comes in here I'm pretty much screwed! _Christie was pretty much right on that aspect. There was no other way out of here other than the way she'd came.

Christie arrived at the top earlier than she'd expected and noticing that she threw her arms into the air and laughed in triumph. With a big smile on her face she picked up the statue not even thinking that something could happen.

Of course it did though. The whole room started shaking rather violently and Christie couldn't hold her feet. Crying out she fell and tumbled down the stairs. Christie's back hit the wall at the bottom with a loud thumping noise. Eyes tightly closed Christie could only grimace even as she felt sharp pain shoot through out her body. Even without looking she knew she'd lost a few rose petals.

After making sure her rose was safe in her pocket she looked up to see what had been happening,"Wh-What is this?!" Christie sat there stunned even as the entrance to this room started to close up. A rocky walling was slowly closing down, it wouldn't be long before Christie got trapped.

_I've got to get up!_ Christie wasted precious seconds of struggling up when she noticed that the entrance was halfway closed. Christie swayed and would have fallen if she hadn't have caught ahold of the wall. She glared at the entrance slowly being sealed up and thought,_ It's now or never!_

Forcing strength into her exhausted limbs she ran with all of the strength she had left and lowered her body as she got close to the entrance. The wall-door was nearly to the floor by now but Christie was small and so it was with no surprise that as she lowered her body nearly to the ground she slipped through the tiny opening.

On the other side she collapsed to the ground and lay on her back gasping in exhaustion and pain. At that point she didn't care whoever or whatever caught her at that moment. With shaking hands and a growing dread she pulled out the rose in her pocket and looked at the number of petals with the ever increasing dread. She had seven petals to start with but now she'd had four!

Grunting in pain Christie struggled up into a sitting position and replaced the rose in her pocket in favor of the statue. The statue seemed vaguely familliar though she couldn't place the reason why. The statue showed a man who sat at an easle. The man had a paintbrush in hand and sat on a stool but despite that he was painting the expression on his face showed that he was depressed.

"I bet this is what I'm looking for..." Christie whispered with a small smile even as she felt the pain shocking her body over and over and over again.

Christie decided then that it was time to leave the maze and look for Ib and Gary. Stumbling to her feet she head off for the exit, ready at any time to hide when she needed to.

Christie had no idea what had happened to Ib and Gary what had maybe been just a few minutes ago.  
~T~  
(Ib'S POV)  
Ib ran on and on. She knew she'd lost the Art creations she just couldn't risk getting caught. Turning a corner she fell against a wall and started coughing. Ib did her best to muffle the coughing against the sleeve of her arm but she was still afraid that someone or something had heard her and so the fear spurred her on.

"This...Is rediculous..." She panted out. The only things that lit her way were torches and during her hurry to get away from the sculptures and paintings she knew she'd gotten lost as well. Slowing down Ib looked at the dead end she'd suddenly came to. Ib walked forward and pressed her forehead against the cool brick. Ib was exhausted beyond all thought, she had litterally been running ever since she came in to the maze.

Then with a shock Ib gasped then quickly threw a hands to her mouth, _Christie's in here!_ Ib had suddenly remembered that her little sister had came in here in search of something for their treasure Hunt. Shifting the Crystal Ball to her other hand she backed away from the dead end, now intending to look for her sister and then quickly exit the maze.

Ib looked up only to hear a curious scuffing along the ground. It sounded as if someone were dragging their feet. Ready to run at any second Ib quietly moved on down the path way, passing from shadow to shadow to see what had caught her attention.

Ib didn't even get to the end when someone appeared out of the shadows and wrapped both hands around her waist and then hauled her back into the shadows. Ib was just about to scream when a dainty little hand pressed itself over her mouth. She still didn't relax until she'd heard a familliar voice.

"Ib, calm down! Its only me." The person let her go and she turned to see that it was Christie that had pulled her into the shadows. About to speak Ib was interrupted when Christie put her finger to her mouth telling her to be quiet. When Ib nodded Christie pointed down the pathway where Ib was going to go.

Ib looked hesitantly only to see that a sculpture was coming down the pathway pulling its feet along. The sculpture had been the sound Ib heard.  
**~T~**  
** ...And Review!**

**What did you guys think about this chapter? I honestly feel like I was a bit lazy this chapter and I may have rushed it a little towards the end. But yeah I thought it would be a good idea to see how Gary thought about this and since Ib apparently didn't give any thought to Christie at all I wanted to see how Christie would react to all of this :3**

**See you next chapter! :P**


	10. Reunited at Last

**Finally when the end of our last chapter comes to a close Ib and Christie are reunited at last. Christie finds a mysterious statue and Gary heads into the maze in hopes of locating Ib before she gets hurt. But with this big of a maze can they hope to be a group of three or will they be seperated once again?**

**Aw man I'm just dying to introduce you guys to one of my other OC's. I think you guys would think he's interesting, but he can't be introduced till sometime after Ib and her friends complete their treasure hunt D: So here's to hoping I can stand the wait (knows you guys don't care as long as theres another chapter XD)**

**With that out of the way, let me do the disclaimer! If anyone has stolen Ib away from its creators I swear that it wasn't me! If anyone did it was my evil twin D: **  
** So Read...**  
**~T~**  
(Ib's POV)  
The yellow dressed sculpture shuffled its feet along the way Ib had just come, it wouldn't be long before the sculpture hit a dead end. Ib and Christie were about to reveal theirselves when two other paintings, a lady in red and a lady in blue, made an appearance. They must have been following the sculpture because the paintings pulled their frames along and disappeared down the dimly lit path way. At one point Ib was quite sure that the Lady in Blue stared at her. Before it disappeared the Lady in Blue turned away from its companions and stared right at Ib. But it was a few minutes later before she realized that the painting stared through her. With a hiss the painting turned away and pulled itself after its companions.

They both waited for a few minutes before letting out a gasp of relief. Christie was the first one to break the silence,"For a second there I thought the painting had really seen you!"

Ib laughed shakily,"I thought she had too." Then Christie pulled herself up and Ib studied her concerned. Something was off about Christie. Christie's eyes were rather dim and cloudy with something akin to pain. Her face was strained as though she were making a attempt at hiding how she felt. Christie tried to hide it but Ib herself had noticed how painstaking it was to stand on her own two feet. Then noticing the purple rose hiding in her sister's pocket she snatched it with sudden panic and studied the number of petals.

"Ah Ib..." Christie noticed a second too late that Ib had grabbed the rose and snatched it away thinking that Ib hadn't counted the petals in time.

_My god she has four petals left and I have three, _sucking in a breath Ib said out loud,"We have to find a vase and heal our roses!"

"How many petals did you lose?"Maybe Christie was afraid that someone would hear them but she lowered her voice a few octaves so that even Ib could barely hear her.

"Two is all." Ib shrugged a shoulder with what can only be a dismissive gesture. Ib wouldn't think about the pain right now, she would only focus on getting both her and Christie out of the maze. Christie was worse off when it came to being in pain after all. Ib catiously stood up and moved out of the shadows, all too aware that they could be found any minute now.

"Well then I guess we need to get a move on then." Christie said in that same odd whisper. Ib thought she was perhaps a little too cautious though Ib couldn't blame her. As Ib followed behind her she nearly bumped into Christie when she suddenly stopped. Christie suddenly turned to look at her and asked curiously,"You wouldn't happen to know why the sculptures and paintings suddenly revealed theirselves? Heck I didn't even see any dolls or manaquin heads till just a few minutes ago!" Christie tilted her head as a curious habit and watched Ib as though studying her to make sure she didn't lie.

Ib laughed nervously thinking, _Well she would have figured it out sooner or later. _And out loud she said,"Well I do have some things to tell you."

As Ib started to explain they began walking again. In the back of her mind Ib discovered a few things: There were manaquin heads placed in special intervals along their path, whenever they followed a certain path they didn't seem to see any sculptures or paintings though there was this one suspicious doll. As Ib watched it warily she could see that it faded in and out as though there were some kind of glamour hiding its true form. It switched from a rabbit then back into a creepy smiling doll and Ib shuddered.

_Was that what Gary saw those two years ago?_

Ib turned to Christie to comment on it when she saw a spark of recognition in her eyes like she recognized it. But instead of being fearful she smiled a fond smile and continued on with her head held high. The actions confused Ib but thought better of interrogating her. After all maybe the doll held some sort of good memory for her.

Then a thought occured to her and Ib hurriedly pulled the Crystal ball out of her pocket, having to rub the smooth surface free of pocket lint. Christie noticed the actions and peered at the Crystal ball curiously then another flash of recognition sparked her eyes and she pointed at the Crystal ball almost acusingly,"Is that one of the items for our Treasure Hunt?!"

"Yes it is." Christie reached out for the Crystal ball and Ib handed it over without hesitation. She watched amused as Christie ran a hand over the crystalline surface and peered into the crystal as though trying to see to the other side. Then her eyes went to the pedestal that the crystal ball was currently sitting on and she turned the crystal ball this way and that, this time studying the pedestal. Christie seemed to be done after a few more seconds and handed it back to Ib carefully as if handling a precious treasure, which was somewhat true in this case.

Christie's look was so calculating that Ib almost laughed.

Then Christie was pulling something out of her pocket and Ib gasped when she saw the statue sitting firmly atop a pedestal. She imagined the statue to be almost as heavy as the Crystal ball and so she slid it into her pocket. Then Christie was pressing the statue into her hands obviously excited to show Ib her new discovery.

As Ib held the statue with both hands she discovered with shock that the statue was slightly heavier than the Crystal ball. The statue sparked a chord in her. She knew that it was familliar to her for some reason but her mind quickly reasoned that she had never seen this statue before. Yet even then she studied the man perched on the stool, posed to create a beautiful art work that would astound thousands.

Ib pursed her lips then gave it back to Christie,"So that's what was in this maze..." Her voice turned thoughful and she couldn't wait to get back to Gary and solve this treasure hunt once and for all.

"Yeah!" Ib heard the grin in her voice but she was no longer looking at Christie. A moment of silence passed before Christie spoke her not only her own concern but Ib's as well,"You said the last time you left Gary was outside of the maze door. You ran in here to lose the sculptures and paintings but I wonder what he's doing right now..."

Ib winced when a sudden thought occured to her,"Gee I wonder. He's too nice..." She sighed in frustration and ran a hand through the mess of her tangles as Christie looked at her wide eyed,"He can be noble. He's saved me I don't know how many times but that same nobleness is what can get him into trouble."

Ib remembered the time when Mary had been closing in on her with a palatte knife and Gary had ran up the stairs in his haste to save her. Gary withheld Mary in his grip for a few seconds but even Mary had apparently been rock solid because Gary threw all of his weight into slapping her. When Mary fell he had come to her, chest heaving and all. It was in that instant that Ib had fully realized how much he'd been through to catch up to her. In her instant of insanity Ib had clung to him and felt his rapid heart beat which also attributed to his fear and the fact that he'd ran nonstop ever since he found out that Mary was a painting.

Feeling a stare on her Ib peered out of the corner of her eyes only to see that Christie was giving her a funny look. Almost as if seeing something very amusing a mischievous smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. Thoughfully she muttered,"Hmm...Gary huh?"

Fully prepared to ask her what the deal was she opened her mouth only to snap it close when the sounds of foot steps assaulted her ears. Christie and Ib exchanged a glance then crept into the shadows unsure whether or not that this were friend or foe. Though Ib had the sneaking suspicion that she knew just who this was. Her suspicions were confirmed a mere minute later when a man with lilac covered hair and violet eyes marched into view.

It was Gary! His chest was heaving with exhaustion and with every step his violet eyes scanned the area obviously looking for them. Despite having lost only a few petals his eyes would flicker every so often with pain though it didn't show in his body.

Unable to contain herself Ib ran from the shadows and tackled Gary, taking them both down in the process.

"Wh-What?!" Gary's body tensed but relaxed a second or two later when he realized that it was Ib who tackled him. Then his arms came to rest around her back, tightening as though making sure she was really there. His nose nuzzled her hair affectionately then he let out a breath and said,"You shouldn't have done that! You have no idea how worried I was." His voice sounded almost harsh but Ib detected the fear and concern hidden in his tone and smiled, head rustling against his chest.

"You know I would have if it meant I could save you,"She pulled her head away to watch him attempt a blinding smile but instead his smile turned sheepish and as he chuckled she felt the chuckle resonate in his chest.

"What am I gonna do with you?"

An obviously fake cough interrupted their happy reunion and both heads turned to see that Christie was staring at them though her body itself was rigid. She'd seen or heard something that made her go alert.

"Did you hear something Christie?" Gary asked as he sat up, pulling Ib into a sitting position as well.

Christie had been about to answer when it became clear a moment later what she'd heard. A scraping sound as if something were being lugged along or something were pulling itself by its fingers and frame. Gary looked at the two girls who gave him a fearful look in turn and Gary, attempting to be brave for the girls grabbed their hands and hurried them along in order to get further and further away.

When the sounds faded away Ib let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She let go of Gary's hand despite the desire to hold onto his hand. No one said anything for a while after and as time passed Ib faintly realized that her surroundings were starting to look familliar.

"So, are you guys okay? You're not hurt are you?" Gary asked concerned. Now he was devoting his attention to both of the girls. His eyes scanned their bodies looking for cuts and bruises though Ib and Christie both tried to hide the pain. Apparently they didn't do too well because Gary sighed and said,"I know you guys must have lost a few petals so lets get out of here, finish this treasure hunt, and find a vase."

"Yeah." Ib said distractedly then looked at Gary's pockets looking for any slight bulge. When she didn't see any she said,"Did you find what you were supposed to?"

"I was beginning to finish when I came to find you Ib. I'd had this really bad feeling and well...You know what happens next." Gary shrugged sheepishly though his eyes betrayed his true feelings of regret. Of what she didn't know but Ib still wrapped her arms around his waist anyway.

"Don't feel bad! At least we're both okay." She tightened her arms for a millisecond before letting go.

Gary was opening his mouth to speak when Christie cried out in excitement,"There's the door!"

Gary and Ib turned towards it. Ib jumped up and down with barely contained happiness as Gary went to the door and opened it. As Christie, Gary, and Ib stepped out of the maze they knew their search for the 'treasures' had begun once again.  
**~T~**  
**...And Review!**

**I think I like this chapter best of all XD So Ib has managed to be reunited with Christie and Gary. Gary and Ib's relationship has grown a bit and it seems that Christie suspects something there between Ib and Gary.**

**What will happen next?! Tune in next time to see what happens when finally, at last Ib is well on her way to achieving the last treasure piece.**


	11. Christie's Past

**I've got nothing witty to say about the last chapter, so sorry about that! Maybe there will be something I can say about this chapter towards the end. BIG Maybe.**

**So disclaimer time! I still don't own Ib no matter how much I wish I did!**

**So Read...**  
**~T~**  
(Christie's POV)  
They'd finally escaped the maze at long last! Christie sighed and stretched her arms high above her quietly noting the pops that sounded as she did so. When they'd left the maze they'd told Gary as quick as possible about the items they found and that it seemed a safe bet to say that the items sat on top of pedestals.

"Um, well since I haven't quite finished the milk puzzle yet I should get back to it,"Garry smiled and turned towards the door. It seemed as if he forgot something though because he turned back and gave us a look only softened by the worry in his eyes,"Please you two, don't get hurt."

"We won't!" Christie smiled then looked at Ib who seemed unnaturally quiet. Ib was looking down with her hair obscuring her crimson eyes. Christie noted with some satisfaction that Ib's cheeks had turned pink.

"Alright, good." Garry patted my head and ruffled Ib's hair which seemed to shock her out of whatever state she'd been in. Ib pouted at her hair getting messe up then hurriedly fixed it. Of course Garry noticed and gave a chuckle before walking into the room with the milk puzzle.

"Boy do I sense love in the air!" Ib gave her a confused look that promped Christie into giggling. Ever the quiet girl Ib shook her head and started walking off, away from the doors. Confused by this Christie followed behind Ib silent for a few minutes just twiddling with one of her pig tails then,"Where are we going?"

"There's a place down here where we can put the items at."

They walked on for a few more seconds before Christie caught her first glimpse of the place. There was five pedestals, two with which would undoubtedly fit the ones they had. Even as she stared at the pedestals blinking Ib swayed forward gingerly pulling the Crystal ball out of her pocket. At the sight of that Christie stumbled forward tripping over a crack. Freezing for a few seconds to stop herself from falling or dropping the statue she now held she regained her balance and then carried on to the pedestals.

Ib had already fitted her Crystal ball into one of the pedestals and Christie vaguely heard a click resound from Ib's general direction. Christie let her eyes graze from pedestal to pedestal wondering if there was a certain one that had to hold her statue. Picking one at random she tried to fit the statue into it only to discover that her suspicions had been confirmed. One by one she tried the rest of them not surprised when it turned out that the last one she would try would be the right one. A click echoed from the pedestal as the statue fit into place, almost like a key turning in a lock. But though that's what it sounded like she looked around, unable to see where it had come from.

A hand fell on her shoulder and Christie looked cautiously over her shoulder to see that it was Ib,"Ready to go to get the next one?"

"Umm...Yeah."Christie tried to smile but couldn't quite get around to it. She had a bad feeling about this next room and her stomach was queasy just thinking about it. Trying to think of the positives Christie attempted to shake off the feeling only to fail miserably.

Ib tilted her head appearing to have noticed the way she was acting, concerned she asked,"Are you okay?"

Christie shrugged in what can be called a dismissive attitude,"Yeah. I guess I'm just paranoid you know?"

Ib whispered, voice full of understanding,"I know how you feel." Then her voice perked up with surprising speed,"But we'll get out of this world soon! Just watch!" Ib whipped back around and, grabbing Christie's hand pulled her along. There seemed to be a new found determination there that hadn't been there before. As she watched Ib, body practically pounding with that same determination, Christie could find herself making a promise of her own.

_I promise, this time we'll all get out of here alive!_

They stopped in front of the door they hadn't been in. The only door as of now that hadn't been closed. As Christie faced the door she could find herself pulling at her pig tail nervously. Why she had a bad feeling she couldn't tell but she decided that if anyone opened it it should be her. As her hand reached out and grasped the door knob Ib's voice stopped her.

"Be careful Christie."

Christie looked back finding that Ib seemed nervous as well. There was the same look in Ib's eyes that was undoubtedly mirrorwed in Christie's as well. The look said that they both knew that what they were about to walk into was anything but good. Still knowing that Christie's hand tightened around the door knob and she threw it open. Christie clenched her eyes shut sure that something bad was about to happen then Ib's gasp caught at her and she reluctantly opened her eyes.

They were in a hall way and then there was a room at the other side with a pedestal that sat a suspicious item. Ib glanced at Christie silently urging her on. By now however the alarm bells were ringing in her head and Christie was reluctant to continue on. But she did, continuing on with Ib trailing behind her.

As they moved closer and closer the item became more and more obvious. Without any surprise they could both clearly see that it was a simple pocket sized painting seemingly fused together with a pedestal. She couldn't tell what the painting was of until she was right on it and then when she could see it clearly enough she stopped in her tracks, the breath seemingly stolen from her.

The painting was of a girl her age with hair almost midnight black with a blue sheen, the hair hanging down to her waist. Black fingerless gloves clung to her elbows and on down to her hands. By way of clothes the girl wore a black silky shirt and boot cut jeans. The girl had a childish face but it was the eyes that threw off a switch inside Christie. Her eyes were red almost like Ib's but even brighter. Her face was childish but the eyes completely contrasted it especially with the malicious look hiding in them.

"This is..." Christie was interrupted when a voice cut across the room. With another growing sense of dread she turned around to meet it.

"Don't you like it? I painted it myself." It was the same girl from the painting. Christie was unable to do anything but stare, her face paling by the minute.

"Christie? Who is this?" Ib asked concerned.

The girl rested both hands on her tiny hips and seemed to watch Christie struggle to pick up words then, unbearably, Christie had a flashback.  
~_FLASHBACK_~  
_"Mary just go away!" Christie said fearfully as Mary bore down on her with a palatte knife. As Christie stumbled back she was dismayed to discover that tears were sliding over her cheeks. She didn't want to die yet!_

_Christie was pressed into the wall now hands splayed against it almost as if looking for something to use against Mary, but there was nothing. Mary came ever closer menacingly, the palatte knife gleaming dully in the low light."Christie I have to kill you. I have nothing against you but if I don't then..." Mary let her voice trail and seemed to glance at her pittyingly then held the palatte knife up, preparing to run her through. Mary's eyes hardened as she brought the knife down._

_**No! I-I don't want to die!**__ The knife never made it to her because Christie collapsed, shaking, almost like she was having a seizure. Except something far worse was happening as both Mary an Christie would discover. _

_Christie's face contorted into one of pain and unbearably she screamed as she felt something inside her tearing into two. Instinctively perhaps she hugged both arms around herself cradling her middle as shivers rocked her. The pain was so unbearable that after a few minutes she was unable to keep from fainting._

_Whatever was happening didn't stop there though. Paint from every which way crept in on her and covered her like a shroud. A thud sounded and it turned out that Mary had dropped her palatte knife in her own horror. Mary stubbornly jumped up an stumbled over to the paint shrouded girl and attempted to rub away the paint only to fail. Tears continued to slide over Christie's eyes as the paint all at once started rising up, slowly starting to form a person._

_Mary as one more act of defense snatched up her palatte knife and held it out against the intruder. As the person became more and more clearer it was clear that this was a girl, with midnight black hair and a blue sheen. The girl wore a black silk shirt and boot cut jeans. The girl's eyes were menacing, they were almost like blood and completely contrasted that of the girl's seeming child-like innocence._

_"Ahhh! That body was so cramped!" The girl tilted her neck to the left and right popping her neck and then she gave Mary a look, one of pure maliciousness._

_"You failed."_  
~_FLASHBACK_~  
"B-Blair." Christie's voice trembled as she stared at the girl. She'd met her the last time she came to the Fabricated World, for her Blair really was the essence of evil.

Ib seemed to harden and she stepped in front of Christie as though she were protecting Christie from Blair's sight. Though it was no use, Christie knew. If Blair wanted to get to her than she would. As it was Blair only looked slightly annoyed and very much amused as if she was enjoying toying with us already.

"Now now let's cut to the chase please little lady?" When Ib refused to move Blair sighed dramatically and pointed at Christie,"I can't leave this world until I kill her. So let me get down to it and I'll leave you alone."

Still Ib refused to move, only splayed her hands out and asked in a harsh voice,"And why can't you kill anyone else?"

Christie blinked and stared at Ib disbelievingly but Blair answered anyway,"Because Christie is litterally my other half and only one of us can escape this place." Blair threw her hands out to the ceiling and twirled around saying,"Don't get me wrong. This place is absolutely beautiful and just right for me but..." That was when Ib saw the menace for real for the first time. Blair turned toward them a sick delight coming into her eyes,"The real world is so innocent and so full of light. Someone needs to do something about that." Blair started walking towards us slowly,"Now if you don't mind I really need to finish Christie off."

"No! Christie get out of here!" Ib held her hands out, a wall separating Blair from Christie but it wouldn't matter because as she watched Blair pulled Ib up by her shirt and threw her against the wall. Christie watched in horror as Ib slid down the wall and collapsed to the floor, lying still.

"Ib, No!" Christie made an attempt to run to her only to be pulled back by the back of her shirt and pushed to the ground. Christie gasped in shock and attempted to get up only to feel a foot press hard into her back. Pain shot up her back as the foot pressed in even harder, she was unable to even move.

Then Blair plucked the rose from her pocket. Christie didn't want to see how many petals she lost already so she lie there whimpering. A bout of pain shot through her rib cage and she just knew that a petal had been pulled off of her rose. Christie didn't struggle as another petal was pulled off. More like she didn't have the strength left to struggle.

Christie's chin trembled as she glanced at Ib who was lying perfectly still. Miserably she whispered,"I'm sorry." She let her head her head drop to the floor and dimly heard Blair say something.

"Oh what's this? One more petal left? Don't mind if I do!"

The same sick delight was in her voice as she gently tugged the petal. Even tugging the petal made Christie's world flip and she dimly felt satisfied that at least she would finally be at peace. But then something slid into her field of view, she heard a scuffling of feet and then the weight being lifted from her.

A familliar voice fell into her ears as she drifted off,"If you kill her I promise you'll regret it!"  
~T~  
"Christie?"

The same familliar voice fell into her ears and she turned away from it too tired to care. Christie tried to fall asleep but a nagging voice pulled at her mind telling her that she must wake up and face the music. Christie shifted and felt a material covering her and opening her eyes she saw that it was Gary's jacket. The jacket was covering both her and Ib, it was just big enough that it could fit them both comfortably.

Christie shifted cautiously again only to find that the pain had disappeared. She looked towards the other side of the room, discovering that a lilac haired man sat against the other side of the room. His violet eyes were concerned but brightened immeasurably when she looked at him, then his eyes darkened with worry again when they turned towards Ib.

"Gary?"

"Hm?"

"Where's that girl?" Christie clutched the jacket tightly, nervously.

Garry could see that she was nervous and so he chose his words carefully,"She's gone for the mean time."  
**~T~**  
**...And Review!**

**What do you guys think of this chapter? Did you like my newest OC? She's gonna be one of the main problem for our favorite heroes XD**

**I decided against doing a witty summary for the end of this chapter and I'm gonna do it for the next chapter XD**

**Okay so see you all next time my precious~!**

**And Review or no cake! D:**


	12. Melancholy

**Something from Christie's Past has come back to haunt her, litterally. Ib and Christie go ahead without Garry in order to get the next item for their treasure hunt but not even Christie could have imagined how much danger she would be in. After finding the item they find out its a painting of a girl, but not just any girl. Cue Blair, the girl that would sooner see Christie to her grave than exhange pleasentries. Ib tries to protect Christie from Blair even though it means getting shoved into the wall and when Christie attempts to go save her she too is pushed down. As Blair grabs her rose Christie is painfully aware of her life ending before her very eyes but just as Blair tugs on her last pettle someone rushes in to save her and this person is...Garry?!**

**Welcome back to our next installment of...Return to the Fabricated World(is very much aware of how much like a TV show this sounds like XD)! You guys. I'm not even kidding. From now on this story gets MUCH more interesting :P**

**I will continue on with the disclaimer! I could never own Ib because I'm pretty sure I would have failed in its production! D: With that out of the way let the story begin!**

**So read...**  
**~T~**  
(Ib's POV)  
Ib wasn't one to just lie there and let someone special to her have it. But no matter how much Ib struggled to open her eyes, get up and move, it was useless. Her eyelids were dead weight and her legs refused to do what she wanted them to do. She could only move her fingers a fraction of an inch as she was too tired to be expected to do anything else.

Ib then noticed that although her body was sore and unable to move the pain was almost all gone. That had to have meant that someone had healed her rose. But who and is Christie okay? Whatever the case Ib's mind was simply too exhausted to concentrate on anything but the exhaustion. With concentrated effort on her part she was finally able to open her eyes and look around the room she was in.

She found to her surprise that she wasn't in the room with the painting pedestal anymore but the room where they'd all started their treasure hunt in, where they'd read Mary's writing. Ib felt a material covering her and she looked down to see that Garry's jacket was draped over her. The sight made her smile a bit as a memory crossed her mind. That time long ago when they'd first entered the Fabricated World and Ib herself had fainted. When she woke up Garry's jacket had been draped over her much like it was now.

"You're finally awake!" Weight fell on her from out of no where which made Ib's breath get knocked from her. As she struggled to take in a breath another voice disrupted her.

"Now Christie, she may still be sore from nearly getting killed. Please be more careful." It was Garry. His tone was kind but stern. His violet eyes held relief but a thinly veiled shroud hid that he was truly worried; truly you could have gotten that from what he'd told Christie.

Christie sobered instantly and clambered off of Ib,"I'm sorry!"

Ib stuttered, finally having gotten her air back,"I-It's okay! I'm glad you're both okay…" Then Ib hugged Christie as tight as she possibly could making sure that it would be a struggle for her to breathe.

"Al-Alright Ib! Punishment accepted." Ib couldn't see her face but she knew there was a smile in the girl's voice. Christie patted her back awkwardly one handed because Ib had been hugging Christie's arm to her body.

Then a chuckle interrupted their somewhat happy reunion and they broke off their hug so Ib could look at Garry, out of the corner of her eye of course, Christie leaned down to Ib's ear and whispered,"Go get him girl!" Looking at Christie curiously she saw that there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and the mischievous even oozed into the girl's voice.

Ib knew what she was talking about and glared at Christie but it must not have been convincing because she knew her face had been red. Whatever the case Ib looked at Garry uncertainly then looked around for a reason to walk over to him. Blinking she spotted his jacket lying there, forgotten, on the ground and she knew it was perfect.

Grabbing his jacket she was careful not to make it even more tattered than usual and slowly made her way over to Garry,"Umm…Here's your jacket." She handed out his jacket and watched as his long slender fingers came in contact with the jacket. When he took the jacket their fingers brushed ever so slightly and she was left looking at her hand with awe. The question she was left asking was, why did her fingers tingle?

"Alright now…" Garry pulled a rather distraught Ib down beside him and looked at Christie."Can you tell us about that girl? Even I had trouble subduing her and she still got away." You could tell something bothered him from the way his eyes dimmed though he made an effort not to show it.

Actually Ib could barely concentrate herself. Sitting against Garry's side was so relaxing that she wanted to fall asleep yet again. Before she could utter a sound Christie started, though she had a feeling Christie wouldn't tell them everything.

"Well you see… That girl is literally my other half. She's Blair and I met her last time I came here," Christie paused to look around as though afraid someone would happen upon them. "Marry had been trying to kill me then too. She found me and backed me against the wall and… Raised her palatte knife high. Then I think that's when she came." Christie looked confused like her memories were jumbled up.

"You think? So you can't remember?" Garry asked curiously.

Christie sighed and crossed her arms, her head tilted in that way that let you know she had no idea what she was talking about,"It's not that exactly but you know... Ever since I came back from the Fabricated World the first time everything has been harder to remember. I've gotten most of my memories back but how exactly Blair came into being is difficult to remember."

Ib hated seeing Christie so lost so she reached over and patted the girl on the shoulder,"You'll remember soon! I guarantee it." She attempted at a reassuring smile but was afraid that it didn't seem realistic. Her smile must have been realistic though because Christie gave her a soft smile in relief.

"Wait. I might be late in asking this but why's she want to kill you specifically?" That's right... Ib remembered that Garry hadn't been there at the time to know why Blair wanted Christie dead."

All traces of a smile were gone from Christie's face as she replied,"Because she's a part of me. The way things stand I'm a real person and she's technically a part of this world." Christie smiled sadly and crossed her legs, one over the other before saying,"The only way she'll be able to escape is if she kills me…" Christie patted her pockets and then looked up with a panicked face,"wh-where's my rose?!"

Ib reached into her pocket only to find that to her astonishment her rose seemed to vanish. She was just starting to get up and issue orders –like a sergeant- when Garry gave a small chuckle and reached into the pockets of his jacket. One of his hands came out with a bright crimson rose and the other came out with a beautiful twilight one.

Christie froze in her seemingly panicked state and slowly reached out a delicate hand to grip her Twilight rose,"Thank you Garry!" A smile lit her face then and Ib could find herself relaxing, happy that her sister had been appeased.

Ib reached out a similarly delicate hand to grab her Crimson rose and held it close to her body. All at once as she stared at the rose her stress seemed to almost melt away. Though she knew that there was something else she must ask about before they get too relaxed.

"Garry, where's that painting for our treasure hunt?" She knew asking about it was a bad idea instantly when Christie's face turned emotionless and her body seemed to stiffen.

Garry didn't seem aware of Christie's odd behavior though. He just simply watched Ib as though preparing her,"Well I took it to this place I found with pedestals." His eyebrow shot up into his hair line and he asked,"Or should I say you guys found it?"

Ib laughed nervously while Christie just showed Garry her innocent face, it didn't matter though because he simply stared at her. Ib cleared her throat attempting to free it off miss use and said," Well I found that place after we had parted ways and then showed Christie after we'd gotten out of the maze."

Garry visibly relaxed and said,"Well I suppose all of that's well and good. But…" His words faltered and Ib could just see his eyes glancing to the door in apprehension."We still have one more item to find and we've been in all of the other rooms… Right?"

Ib looked up at Garry curiously noticing how he didn't say anything about the item he was supposed to find in his own room. She was going to voice the same concerns when her mind flashed back to the memory of reading the words on that strange plaque. 'The door will only open for one whose heart is pure'.

Crimson eyes narrowed in concentration Ib stomped out into the hall albeit the calls of Garry and Christie following behind her. She didn't listen though, there was one room in particular that she was looking for and she was quite sure that when she found it it would only yield to her and her alone. Christie and Garry hadn't yet reached her but she could vaguely hear huffs of effort coming from behind her.

Just when Garry and Christie had reached her Ib turned a corner and saw a door unlike the rest. A dark colored mahogany door with a brass door knob. The air around the door seemed oppressive and Ib crossed her arms trying in vain to keep in a shiver that was rapidly crossing its way down her spine. Against her better judgment Ib tip toed to the door as though trying to keep from enraging an animal.

Just when her hand had touched the door knob Garry's hand was over it in an instant, forcing Ib's hand away. Looking up curiously she saw that Garry's eyes were filled with the same tension that was undoubtedly mirrored in not just her own but her body as well. A small scuffling behind her made her look back in paranoid alarm only to find that it was Christie who had come up behind her. Christie had the same paranoid look in her eyes and her body was stiff with fear, Ib could tell she was also confused by this.

Whatever the case Garry swallowed hard and said,"Both of you please be careful."

It took a second for them to respond and even then they could only nod. Ib waited for the first chance she could to slip through the door. Whatever was going on she knew that only she would be able to go through the door for whatever reason.

So as it was when Garry slowly opened the door Ib slipped in to the now narrow crack and raced down the hall before they could interrupt. However, guilt punctured her mind when their cries echoed behind her. So as she advanced into the darkneing hall way she turned around just in time to see them unable to get through a seemingly invisible barrier, unable to see them so upset she called out:

"I'm sorry! I'll be back soon!"

Then with a constricting heart she turned and hurried down the hall way, vaguely scared of the darkness that increased with each step.  
**~T~**  
**...And Review!**

**I'm soooooooo freakin sorry about not having this chapter up sooner! D: School sucks, then I had Writer's Block, and then when I finally knew what I was going to write I had no desire to write D:**

**Personally this chapter is not one of my bests. I mean its kind of boring and in this chapter Ib had little to no voice (tone) but I guess that's also up for you guys to decide XD**

**So tell me what you guys think about this chapter and see you guys next time when Ib tackles the last challenge of the Treasure Hunt! :D**


	13. Separated once again?

**After Ib had woken from her sleep she and Garry had learned the truth behind Blair's existence though Christie hadn't told the full story. After they had finished talking Ib had remembered the last item they were to find and she left in a hurry. When they found the said door that had seemingly appeared out of no where Ib took her chance to leave without them. Ib left hearing the cries of her two best friends. (That's all I have, not much really happened last chapter but think of it as the suspense building up! :D)**

**So if you guys don't mind I will go ahead and do the disclaimer! I don't own Ib even though the creaters offered it to me...(Yep, just keep digging yourself a hole there!)**

**Inner voice: Guys, don't listen to her lies. She only wishes she could own that game! .**

**Me: Always interrupting at a fantastic time. GO AWAY INNER VOICE! -.-"**

**Inner Voice: Can't, I'm in your head! :P**

**Me: Why I oughta... blinks Wait. I've gotta continue with this! DX**

**So Read...**  
**~T~**  
(Christie's POV)  
Her fist rammed into the invisible barrier hard and though she recoiled from the shock she only tried again. Christie could feel tears threatening to overwhelm her senses and angrily she brushed them away, about to attempt to toughen out the barrier. But just as she pulled her fist back a hand grabbed her own. Christie looked up wide eyed at the owner of the hand unsurprised when it turned out to be Garry.

"You can't just hurt yourself."

Christie roughly snatched her hand away from him and glared at the barrier. Blinking in somewhat of a shock she leaned in close to the barrier and realized with growing dread that she hadn't even made a dent. Leaning back on her heels she bit down on her lip to choke down tears that were undoubtedly trying to claw their way out.

Finally when she had a little control over her tears she asked in a whisper,"Well? What do we do?"

Garry was silent for a few moments and Christie realized that he may have been just as lost as she was. But then he broke the silence with a self-assured sentence,"Ib will come back to us. I know she will, so we'll wait."

Christie promptly jumped up and was just about to fire off some choice words of her own when she caught sight of his figure. The Lavender haired youth had crossed his arms and leaned against the wall beside the door way with a look of indifference but the presence he gave off gave him a slightly guarded feeling. He wasn't looking at her but then again he didn't have to, just him keeping his eyes away from her told her that he didn't want her to see what he felt. Christie watched as one of his hands reached down into his jacket pocket to fiddle absentmindedly with the glowing blue rose.

Her mouth snapped shut and she glanced around with a soft sigh. Of course they would wait for Ib. There was just nothing else to do. Then Christie realized that though Ib was alone she could most likely take care of herself. After all she's been through this twice so far including this one. Ib knew about the paintings, sculptures, heck even Mary. They defeated her once though and if they had to again then they would.

There was also Blair to think about though. Well theoretically Blair wouldn't go after Ib because there was no reason for her to. The only person Christie knew Blair to be after was her, she wouldn't go after anyone else. Would she?

Before Christie quite knew what she was doing she was pacing around in a circle. Her thoughts were so tangled up that she failed to notice Garry watch her with curiosity. Though he was nice enough to not ask her what it was. Christie didn't want to alarm him or Ib until she knew for sure she was right.

Pressing the palm of her hand into her forehead she attempted to stifle a head ache. With a sudden thought she turned toward Garry with a neutral face,"I need to walk off for a few minutes. There's something we forgot to do."

Despite Christie's attempt at a straight face Garry stared down at her searching her eyes, as though searching for a lie of some sort,"Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course Garry! I promise I'll try!" Christie gave him a genuine smile then and turned around to run off, even without Garry saying she could go.

"Christie."

She slid to a stop and glanced back, a curious expression on her face.

"Be careful. You know Blair's out there and she'll do whatever it takes to kill you." Garry started to meddle with his lighter as a nervous tic but promptly slid both hands into his pockets as though to stop the nervous habit.

A lump formed in her throat and it took a few minutes for her to figure out a reason why. This seemed like too much of a goodbye, she didn't like it. Forcefully she swallowed down the lump and gave Garry a smile, that may have seemed a little fake,"I'll be careful Garry. Trust me, just keep an eye out on Ib!" With that Christie turned and ran down the hall way. What she had to do wasn't even important but she wasn't about to let anything separate her from her friends.

A certain room came into view and she ducked in. Looking about the room with observant eyes she found what she was looking for in the corner. A big hole just the size of maybe a painting to be able to come through and on the other side was the rediculously big maze that took them forever to escape! Christie had seen the hole when they had exited the maze but assumed that that was how Ib cut around the hordes of paintings and sculptures that had surrounded Garry.

Whatever the case she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her making sure it was well shut before turning back to walk the way she had come.

Christie froze instantly.

Before her was a huge wall that she was sure hadn't been there before, after all she'd came from that way, right? She pounded on the wall thinking helplessly that it was fake somehow only to once again flinch in pain. Pulling her hands back Christie realized the worst thing. She was now separated from Garry and Ib.

Her hands started shaking and helplessly she sucked in deep breaths of air to avoid getting a panic attack. Christie wrapped both arms around herself trying her best to shield herself against the sudden bad circumstances. A chill ripped through her, though not one of cold, and she couldn't helpt but wonder what Garry and Ib would think.

Christie shook her head in defiance,"N-No. I'll j-just find a way back to them!" She tried her best to seem positive but once again shook her head to try to shake away the negativity. "I will get back to them! I made a promise after all! I promised that we're all getting out of here alive!" By the end of her small speech she started to feel better.

Looking down the only path laid before her she followed it wondering if something had perhaps changed. But no, nothing did. She ended up at the pedestals once again and saw to her dismay that no path had opened. All of the pedestals had items from the treasure hunt except one. No doubt that last item would be where Ib was at.

Just about collapsing she sat down under one of the pedestals and frowned thinking, _Does that mean I have to wait for Ib to come here with the item? How's that work? What's the point of separating us?_

Christie bit down on her bottom lip nervously all the while glancing at the pedestal in the center of the room. The only pedestal that was inconspicuously empty.  
**~T~**  
(Ib's POV)  
Ib stumbled through the darkness unable to make out any sort of shape. This hall way seemed to go on forever. A hysterical laugh nearly fell out of her as she realized the famillarity of that statement. The laughter died in her throat when scuffling noises made its way to her ears.

The noise made her freeze and clutch at the wall as she waited for the noise to pass. All the while Ib tried not to think of what it was that made that noise. There weren't mice here right? She didn't see any last time she'd came to this world.

"This is rediculous,"Ib whispered as she continued on, fairly certain that whatever had made that scuffling noise was gone now.

Ib was concerned that the farther she went the darker it became. Even after it became pitchblack it just seemed to get worse until she couldn't tell where the wall was. Until she couldn't even tell where the ceiling or the floor was. It was like being stuck in perpetual darkness. She shuddered at the thought but squared her shoulders and continued on through the unrelenting darkness.

Ib's hand was on the wall so she knew the exact moment when the hall way widened out. She let her hand drop away as a single light flickered on. It turned out to be a candle held by a girl in an emerald green dress. Mary's eyes were playful and determined but Ib knew that whatever Mary had planned it wasn't good.

"There you are Ib! I'm so happy you're here!" Mary set the candle on a nearby table even as candles from near by caught on fire.

Ib was about to respond when her eyes caught a familliar item. A painting that was set in the corner of the room they were in. The painting wasn't from the gallery. It was a portrait of Ib and her family, all looking happy. Ib was sitting on a stool with the biggest smile ever while her parents stood to either side of her with one hand on her shoulder.

Ib only glanced at Mary as she turned in a circle gawking at the room she was in. That door she had came in was the entry way of her home! Which meant that the room she was in was the living room of her house! Her thoughts were proven more so correct when she saw Christie's toys scattered on the floor and her own palatte and paint brushes on the coffee table.

"H-How..." Ib was facing Mary again and it seemed like she couldn't form a coherent sentece. Ib's eyes flickered around at the familliar landscape and her hands tightened on the folds of her skirt as longing clutched her heart.

"How are we here you ask?"Mischief was in place in Mary's cerulean eyes. Mary started to pace around the room and it was only then that Ib noticed the palatte knife held tightly in Mary's hand."This room takes your longings and desires and makes them a reality. Its a pity though, I wanted to live here. With you and your sister." Something pittiful contorted the child like innocence on Mary's face but Ib clenched her fists, unable to feel pity at the moment for Mary.

"How can you say that when Christie told me herself that you tried to kill her!" Ib's voice was louder than she thought it had been but she couldn't care. It was time that Mary stopped trying to kill everyone she loved and if no one could stop her than she would.

How ever something feral shown on Mary's face, intensified by the candle light. But then a switch was thrown off and her face relaxed,"I had to kill Christie. I knew she was going to give birth to Blair."

"Does that mean you should kill her?! Give up before you even tried?! No it doesn't!" Ib's voice was steadly rising. She tried to tell herself that it was because of Mary but if that was a reason then it wasn't the only one. The simple fact was she was tired and she was starting to lose herself to hysterics.

Mary bowed her head the grip on her palatte knife tightening into a white handed grip and she whispered,"Just die." At first Ib couldn't tell what she said but then Mary made the first move,"Just die!" Mary took a few steps. If it wasn't for Ib noticing the way the knife glimmered in the dim light she wouldn't have known when to duck.

Ib staggered forward out of Mary's way and turned back to see Mary blocking her way out. Maybe it was the Adrenaline filling her veins but when Mary came after her again she ran down the hall way of her fake home. Ib heard Mary slashing at the air behind her but she didn't look back that is until the knife grazed her arm.

When she did look behind her she didn't like what she saw. Mary was slashing crazily at the air trying her hardest to pierce Ib. Mary's eyes were what scared her most though. They were like two red hot coals of hate despite the fact they were cerulean blue. The sight made her falter and it was that mistake that gave Mary an opening. Mary dragged the palatte knife down her back forcing Ib to force screams into the back of her throat.

But Ib pulled roughly away, turned back and slapped Mary across the face. Before Mary could recover from the shock Ib pushed herself into the room that resembled her own and slammed the door shut, barricading it as she did so.

Gasping for breath from exhaustion and pain she slowly pulled the rose out of her pocket and nearly choked. She now had one petal left. Even that rose petal would most likely die soon. Putting away the Rose she surveyed the room noticing how this place seemed to have gotten every detail right.

Except for one thing, there was something on her bed that didn't fit with the surrounding area. As Ib crept towards it the shape became clear. It was a Palatte knife on top of a pedestal. The palatte knife was so similar to Mary's that she cautiously glanced towards the barricaded door. When nothing bad happened Ib reached out a hand to touch the pedestal.

And the pedestal dissolved into thin air.

Shocked she thought,_ What was that?! Why did it dissapear like that?_ Then Ib remembered a story Garry had told her about the disappearing paint balls that Garry had to recover the last time they'd been here.

_Does that mean that its with the others? _

Only one way to find out. Ib turned toward the door and with a fast beating heart she crept towards it.  
**~T~**  
**...And Review!**

**Well?! How did you guys think of it? :3**

**Inner Voice: They won't like it .**

**What do you know? You're just a voice in my head -.-"**

**Inner Voice: I know more than you!**

**Shut up already! .**

**Anywaaaay...Tell me what you guys like about it! :D**


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